International Directions
by Rach1989
Summary: After suffering defeat in their first National competition, New Directions are back bigger and stronger than ever. After finally beating Vocal Adrenaline at National's and taking the National title, they are now ready take on the International stage.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone :) This is a repost of mine. I posted it back at the end of season one, but it never really went anywhere. I was re-reading it the other day and I thought it had a good base to it, so I decided to make some modifications to it by adding the newer characters and then repost it, to make it more applicable to the current season :) This is a multi-character story, but the focus will be on Puck and Rachel as the story continues, this the first time I've actually wrote something that doesn't just focus on one or two characters, so it's an experiment for me.**

**I really hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I enjoy writing it, as always reviews make me :D so if you wouldn't mind leaving me some *hint hint***

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee, if I did then Blaine would be at McKinley already and Puck and Rachel would be together by now :)**

**enjoy x**

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><p>Will Schuster was an extremely proud man right now, he'd watched his kids struggle through the odds over the last three years, and now everything had been worthwhile, they were now National Champions, a title no one could take away from them, not even a certain cheerleading coach.<br>"Schuster!" Will lifted his head from his paperwork as he heard Sue enter the teacher's lounge; he gave her a smug grin that only angered her more. She threw down her clipboard onto the table and stood over him.

"What's this I hear about your group of misfits being National champions?" she asked, Will sat back in his chair and gave her a nod of satisfaction.

"That's right Sue, I guess you've wasted your time this year, even after all of those ridiculous stunts you pulled, we still managed to win."

"How dare you, that is a ridiculous accusation and I will sue your ass!"

"You don't need to we won Sue. You'll just have to learn to accept it," With that he picked up his coffee and his pile of work and walked out of the office, leaving a furious Sue behind him. It had felt great to finally get one over her. His kids had performed great during the competitions, even if they had planted fake set lists around the school. This year they were not taking any chances. It had also been a relief that the kids had finally managed to bond with each other this year, for once there were no arguments between them, they were all there for one thing – the joy of performing. They had also pulled together, each of them aware that this would be the last time that they were able to perform together as a team, after graduation they were all going their own separate ways. As he walked through the busy hallways, it was evident that everyone was already getting into the summer spirit, lockers were being emptied, selected students were still trying to frantically cram for those last few finals, whilst those who couldn't care less made no attempt in even trying look interested as they threw their books into huge bins at the bottom of the hallway.

As he rounded the corner he ran into a familiar redhead, he smiled as she took a cautious step back from him. They had never really gotten over what could have been between them, it was obvious to anyone that they should be together, it just seemed to be easier said than done. Over the weekend, the pair had spent a considerable amount of time together, as between them they managed to keep the kids in order and get them ready to perform.

"Oh, hi Will!" she smiled, her eyes looking into his briefly.

"Emma," he nodded at her, and she blushed slightly. The pair stood in silence for a few seconds when Emma cleared her throat quietly.

"Figgins is looking for you, he said it's important," Will rolled his eyes, and nodded.

"Thanks Emma," she smiled politely and stepped to the side of him, before continuing on her way. Will sighed loudly and shook his head. Figgins hadn't really been that supportive over the last year, even though the Glee Club had been receiving recognition through everything they had done, and even before winning Nationals, they had been under budget, the kids were determined to pay their own way this year, without having to worry about Figgins cutting their budget again. Their win at Nationals had given the club a huge cheque, something that would come in handy in the future; Will had no doubt about that. However, the thought that Figgins wanted to see him now, filled him with nothing but dread. Every time he'd been called into his office, he'd received bad news. Will had been determined to keep up his good mood, but he had a nagging feeling that all of this could be over in seconds.

As Will walked into Figgin's office, he smiled at the secretary, she gave him a polite smile and nodded in direction of the main office. Will nodded and stepped forward, lightly tapping on the glass door.

"You wanted to see me?" he said opening the door a little.

"Ah William, yes please come in," Will gave him a worried look, a little concerned at this new attitude, he'd never seen Figgins so happy before. As he took his usual seat in front of Figgins desk he glanced around him, whilst Figgins finished polishing one of his prized duck ornaments – items that freaked Will out to no end.

"I do believe I haven't had the opportunity to congratulate you in person after your triumphant weekend at Nationals." Will nodded, as the man opposite him took his usual seat behind the desk.

"Oh, well. Thank you. But I didn't do anything, it was the kids," Will couldn't hide the pride in his voice, Figgins noticed this and smiled.

"Of course, the children were an asset to the school, I do believe,"

"Yes, they really were," Will agreed with him as Figgins began tidying a pile of papers that had accumulated on his desk.

"Now, you're probably wondering why I've asked to see you here William?" Will nodded and stared at the man in front of him. "I've received an e-mail from the chair of the National Glee Club Championship, it appears they were very impressed with the children, on and off the stage."

"Oh, well, like I said, they were an asset to the school," Will added, Figgins nodded and waved his hand to silence Will, who frowned at him.

"Well it seems that that they were so impressed with them, that he would like our Glee Club to represent the country at the international competition over the summer,"

Will's eyes widened, he'd heard of the international competition before, but never had he even considered that his kids would be ready for that. They were only in their second year. Would the kids be able to go? What about funds? Sure they had the cheque from Nationals, but that would only cover so much.

"I'm sorry, what?" Will finally managed to say, trying to ignore the questions that were frantically forcing their way to the front of his mind,

"William, they are asking you to represent to America in the International Championships, this summer in England, now do you accept?"

"I'll have to talk to the kids about this..."

"William, this isn't about the children, think about the sponsorship deals we could negotiate if our school represented the country," Figgins was walking around the room now, Will followed him with his eyes.

"Even if we did agree, how would we be able to afford to go? Our budget will not cover the expenses a competition like this would cost us,"

"William, everything will be taken care of, all you need to do is prepare the kids for a competition, can you do that?"

"I guess so," Will mumbled as Figgins pulled him to his feet. He tapped him on the back he pulled him towards the door.

"You won't regret this William, I'll e-mail the details to you," Will nodded, still in somewhat of a daze. The door closed behind him and Will stood for a moment replaying everything that had happened in the room just a few seconds ago. The kids were going to represent the country in a competition. They'd worked so hard all year, he was sure that they were going to have a relaxing summer, now he'd have to throw this on them. He didn't even know if they were all available over the summer. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. Up until now, he'd only thought about the kids, but now he was thinking about their set list should they go through with the competition, they'd want to perform some new numbers, how would he be able to come up with them all in time? He shook his head in defeat, there was no point in worrying about that right now. It hadn't even been confirmed, instead he decided he would discuss it with the kids first and get their view on things. If they agreed, then they would work out the details, if they refused then that would be the end of that, No argument about it – the kids came first, they always had done.

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><p>As he re-entered the busy hallway, he noticed a cheerful Rachel making a beeline towards him. Giving her his usual smile, he waited to be bombarded with another list of her demands.<p>

"Mr Schuster, I've been looking for you everywhere!" she grinned, "Miss Pilsbury told me you'd been called to see Principal Figgins, I hope everything is okay,"

Will noticed her concern and nodded, giving her a sincere smile.

"Everything is fine Rachel, thank you for your concern,"

"No problem Mr Schuster!" she grinned, "I've been looking through some possible song choices for the graduation ceremony,"

"That's great Rachel," he smiled politely.

"I thought we could look through them this afternoon, we're still having our usual Glee meeting aren't we? I know it's the end of the school year, but that really isn't an excuse!" Even after all this time it still amazed Will how quickly Rachel could talk.

"Yes Rachel, we're still having the meeting," Rachel gave him a satisfied grin, "Could you please make sure to pass the message onto the rest of the club, it's important that everyone is there this afternoon."  
>Rachel nodded, desperate to find out more. She stared at him intently, trying to read his face. She got nothing out of him, instead she glanced behind him and into Principal Figgins' office. He had his back to her, typical! Instead, she smiled sweetly at her teacher and set off to find the others. If Mr Schuster had something important to tell them, then she wanted to make sure that everyone was there early, she didn't want any delays.<p>

Will watched as Rachel quickly made her way through the hallways, he'd wanted to tell her there and then, but he didn't want to be accused of favouritism by telling Rachel first. Telling everyone at the same time was the right thing to do. Now he just had to figure out how he was going to tell them. He just needed some guidance first, and he knew exactly where to go to get it.

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><p>Emma Pillsbury wasn't one to be effected by the joys of the school year ending for summer, she was happy whilst at work. It was the one thing that gave her a sense of normality, now all that was coming to an end for another 3 months. She had no idea what she was going to do with herself. Last summer had been different; she had spent the majority with Carl, their relationship had been new and fresh back then. Of course, things were still a little awkward, she had some sort of feelings for Will, feelings that she couldn't turn off on a whim, however Carl was a wonderful person, and she was lucky to have found him. Christmas vacation had been much of the same, they had spent Christmas with her family and new years with his. That had been a experience like no other for her, meeting new people, getting to know new surroundings, she was still coming to terms with her problems and gradually things were getting better for her. They were not perfect, not even close, but they were better than they had ever been. Carl had helped her through them, but deep down she knew that she didn't truly love him, she was settling for him. Like she'd done before with Ken, it wasn't fair then, and it definitely wasn't fair now. Carl didn't deserve that, and neither did she. So a week before she flew out to New York with New Directions for Nationals, she finished her relationship with Carl. Even though Emma and Will were now on good terms, they still had not returned to the way things used to be for them. But she was okay with that, she was being honest with herself for the first time in years. So here she was, after polishing everything in her office for the fifth time that day, she was stuck wondering how she was going to spend the rest of the summer vacation.<p>

There was a quiet tap on her window, she lifted her head from polishing her pen holder and smiled when she saw Will smiling at her. She nodded and he walked inside.

"Hey, can we talk?" he asked, her eyes brightened and she nodded as he took a seat opposite her.

"Was everything okay with Figgins?" she asked, he nodded and looked at her intently.

"New Directions have been selected to represent America in the International Championships," he explained.

"Really? Oh Will, that's great news!" She grinned, before taking in the concerned expression on his face, "Isn't it?"

"I don't know Emma." Will sighed, "The kids have worked so hard all year round, I thought they could use the summer vacation as a chance to unwind before we start again next year,"

"Will, talk to the kids, this could be a brilliant opportunity for them," Emma smiled, Will lifted his head and smiled gratefully at her.

"I guess you're right," he agreed, his eyes locking on hers, "Thank you Emma," she smiled as he rose his feet and headed out to the door. He stopped momentarily and turned to face her, her eyes still watching him intently.

"If we do go, we'll need another chaperone," he smiled, before making a quick exit. Her eyes widened and she smiled after him. She straightened out her desk once again and sighed happily, maybe her summer wouldn't be a boring one after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the reaction to this. I was pretty unsure about reposting it, but I'm so glad I did :D I don't think I've ever had so many alerts from the first chapter alone. Here's the second chapter, and the glee kids appear :) **

**As always, I'd love if you could leave me a review to let me know what you think, even though the alerts are great as well.**

**I don't own Glee either, because if I did Blaine would be ND already and Sam and Puck would have plenty of scenes in the gym topless ;)**

**Enjoy**

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><p>Rachel had managed to catch up with everyone during the day, explaining the urgency of them attending the rehearsal. It was clear to say that everyone was more than a little concerned with the urgency. Mr Schuster had been very vague with his message, but everyone had his or her own interpretation to what it could mean. The most common assumption was that Figgins was cancelling the club. So as everyone gathered in the choir, the atmosphere was more than a little tense.<p>

"Do you really think he'll cancel the club?" Tina asked, asking the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to. They'd been in this position before but they'd fought and won. Now they were experiencing the same heartache again, this time as National champions. Blaine glanced at Kurt, this concept was new on him, for him being in Glee Club had always been a big thing, something that people had just accepted, being at McKinley had certainly changed his perception on things.

"This is so unfair!" Mercedes added, as Artie clasped Brittany's hand gently. Everyone nodded in agreement. They'd all become so close over the last three years, any differences that they once had had subsided, at least when it came to the club. Sure they still had their disputes every now and again, but they were teenagers, it came with the territory. But Glee Club was something they all had in common. They'd worked so hard since their first defeat to Vocal Adrenaline and finally all that work had paid off.

"How could he do this to us? I thought we'd finally proven something to this school, and now he's cutting the club just as we're getting ready to leave," Finally Rachel jumped to her feet and walked to the front of the room, clearly having enough of the negative attitude in the room.

"Come on you guys, we can't start fighting between ourselves again, that is exactly what Figgins wants," she stated calmly, giving everyone her best show face. Blaine nodded and smiled at her. Ever since their 'experiment' the previous year, the pair had become really good friends, bonding over their love of performing.

"Rachel's right, we been through this before, and look where we are now," Rachel smiled gratefully at him as conversations started again. She turned her back on everyone and took a deep breath as she shuffled through her pile of music that she had selected that afternoon before Mr Schuster had called the meeting. Glee had been her sanctuary since she and Finn had parted ways a few months ago. She had cancelled their date as she had an extra vocal lesson, she knew that he'd been annoyed, but as she'd told him countless times before, her career always had to come first. Her vocal class had been cancelled at the last minute as her teacher was struck down with a case of tonsillitis. Rachel was pleased that she no longer had to disappoint Finn, so she headed directly for his house. Ignoring the pleas from Kurt and Blaine as they tried to prevent her from heading up to his bedroom. She understood why though, when she opened the door she saw him with his lips locked tightly against Santana's. That had been the end of that relationship, no matter how many times he'd tried to apologise to her. Blaine had been her rock throughout the whole thing, helping her to find the strength inside of her that she needed to show Finn that she was better of without him. Sure had ended up going to the senior prom without a date, but she'd had such a good time with Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes that she hardly noticed the void. She had tried so hard to remain optimistic as she passed the message onto everyone, but the truth was she terrified. She wanted to leave a legacy at McKinley when she left, she wanted future Glee club members to look back on what the first group of New Directions achieved and be proud of them, she wanted them to aspire to be like her some day.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" The room fell silent as Mr Schuster walked into the room, Rachel quickly returned to her seat as all eyes fell on the teacher in front of them.

"Come on guys, you should be so happy right now. You're National Champions, and the summer is almost here, you're all finally leaving high school," he grinned, trying to lighten the tension that had built up in the room.

"Mr Schuster, we deserve to know the truth," Rachel said finally, noticing that her teammates were not going to speak any time soon, "Is Principal Figgins going to be cutting the Glee Club?"

Will's eyes widened in horror, as he glanced around the room, everyone had the same expression on their face, a look of concern and dread.

"What? No, is that what you guys think?" he asked trying to string a sentence together. The kids exchanged nervous glances and this time it was Finn's turn to speak.

"Well, yeah." He mumbled, he glanced in Rachel's direction for a few seconds, before focusing back to his teacher, "Rachel told us that you'd just come out of Figgins' office when she saw you."

"Yeah..but..."

"You said it was important that were all here Mr Schuster," Rachel added, finding her voice again.

Will sighed and pulled up a chair in sat in front of them. He took in the expressions on their faces and smiled softly at them. So many times had they sat together in this choir room, so many time had they had to pull together to defeat the odds, and yet here they were, still children at heart, scared at what was going to happen next.

"You guys were amazing at Nationals over the weekend, I've never seen you all perform so well," He looked around and noticed modest smiles sweep across their faces.

"It is true that I had to see Principal Figgins, and it did concern the club,"

"I knew it!" Puck yelled, speaking for the first time since the group had gathered, everyone turned to face him and he shrugged, so he actually cared about Glee Club, but he was still a badass.

"I'm going to tell you all something, but I don't want any of you to feel pressurised in any way. This is totally your decision. I want you consider everything I'm going to tell you, but also remember that it is the last time you'll all be together for some time." Will took a deep breath and watched as his students hung on his every word.

"Mr Schuster, the suspense is killing me!" Rachel stated from the back of the room, Blaine laughed and nudged her, whilst Puck rolled his eyes at her. Will smiled as Rachel shrugged it off and turned her attention back to her teacher.

"As National Champions, you've been selected to represent America in the International competition, held this year in England!" he announced, the room fell silent once again. Will was a little stunned at the reaction as he waited patiently for someone to speak. He glanced at Rachel, expecting her to be the first one to speak as usual, instead this time it was Tina.

"Are you serious?" she asked, Will nodded.

"Now it'll be a lot of work, especially in short space of time, and of course it means giving up some of you summer to compete, but it could be good opportunity for you guys. But it's your call, nothing has been confirmed yet," So he lied a little, but if the kids didn't want to do it, then he'd have to break the news to Figgins, no big deal.

"So we get to travel to England and compete?" Mercedes asked, Will nodded as she and Kurt high fived each other.

"We're in!" she exclaimed, Will grinned and glanced around the rest of the club, who were still contemplating the idea. He wouldn't rush them, he'd give them as much time as they needed. Tina glanced at Mike, who nodded and smiled at her.

"We'll do it Mr Schue," Tina grinned, Blaine glanced at his boyfriend who was already talking to Mercedes about the clothes that he was already planning on taking with him, he smiled and then glanced at Rachel who was beaming at him, pleading with him with her eyes. He nodded and she gave him a quick hug.

"Mr Schuster, we need to work out a new set list!" Rachel exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and picking up the pile of notes she had planned on showing him earlier, "I think you'll find some appropriate song choices in here." She thrust the pile into his hands and he laughed at her.

"All in good time Rachel, am I right in assuming that you're in?" she nodded and gave him one of her 100 watt smiles. He laughed as she returned to her seat.

"So what about the rest of ya'll," Mercedes asked, Quinn shrugged.

"I guess it could be fun," she smiled, "I didn't have many plans this summer after all," Will grinned as Sam nodded in agreement, he had eight now, only another six to go. Finn smiled at Rachel and nodded.

"I'm in Mr Schue," Will couldn't stop the grin on his face from growing even more.

"Guys?" Will glanced at the rest of the group Lauren shrugged in agreement. Brittany looked at Santana and then to Artie who smiled at her, Brittany knew she couldn't give her answer before they did, she had to make sure it was the right one.

"I've always wanted to go to England," Santana mused, "I guess it could be fun," Brittany let out a quiet shriek and clapped her hands happily as Artie nodded in agreement. Will made a mental count in his head, he only had thirteen who had agreed, so he had enough to compete, but he knew it wouldn't be the same unless the whole group were there, as he glanced around the room, it was pretty clear that the other members of the group had also made this same calculation.

Puck meanwhile had been delving in and out of the conversation, sure the club wasn't going to be cancelled, and that was a good thing. He'd worked hard enough all year for it to be wasted, but the thought of spending his summer singing and dancing, it didn't really scream ideal summer. Especially when he could be out embracing the fact that he didn't have school for another three months. He watched as one by one everyone agreed to go, he knew everyone was staring at him, he knew that if he didn't go then no one else would be able to perform, since when had that mattered to him? He rolled his eyes and glared at the rest of the club.

"Puck?" Will said tentatively, "Are you in?" He stared at his teacher and back at the rest of the group – his friends but whatever – he shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," The room filled with loud cheers as everyone began to discuss the competition and what they planned on doing whilst they were in England. Will smiled to himself as he stood up. He'd dreaded informing them, he'd had no idea that they'd agree so quick to this, he thought they'd all be a little apprehensive, how wrong was he? He shook his head and placed his chair back to his original position.

"Okay guys, I'm going to let you finish up early. I have to talk to Principal Figgins, as well as working out a new set list for us to work on," he announced, Rachel frowned as everyone happily began filing out of the room. She waited until they were alone before approaching her favourite teacher.

"Mr Schuster, I have a few suggestions of my own that I would like to put forward, I can also draw up a rehearsal schedule," Will shook his head and turned to face her.

"There's really no need Rachel," he tried to sound as polite as possible, aware she was already tapping her foot behind him.

"Mr Schuster, this is clearly a last minute, we need to be prepared,"

"And we will be Rachel, I already have an idea in mind," he stated, "Please, go home, relax a little, we have a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time, I need everyone rested and ready to go."

"But..." and there was the frown, Will smiled fondly at her, she was a talented performer but she really didn't know when to call it a day.

"You were brilliant at Nationals Rachel, I don't want to tire you out before Internationals, if you can't perform, we won't even stand a chance," He knew flattery was the best way to persuade Rachel to chill out, even if it was for a little while.

"I suppose you're right," Rachel reasoned as she picked up her bag, "But please, just take a look at some of these song choices," Will nodded and waved as Blaine quickly walked back into the room and pulled Rachel away with him and Kurt, still talking about possible song choices. He laughed as he heard Blaine trying to calm her down, pretty unsuccessfully, but at least Blaine was having a go. Will let out a content sigh as he carelessly flicked through some of pages that Rachel had left behind. She had good choices, but he had another idea in mind, but he knew that Rachel was persistent, and she would question him tomorrow, by looking at them now he was showing some willing.

As time passed, Will picked up his bag and placed his pile of papers inside, before heading out to find Emma again. He'd dropped the hint earlier, now he had to make sure that she was up for it. If she said no then he was sure to be stuck with Sue – he shuddered at the thought. He could not let that happen, not to him or the kids. He walked through the empty hallway, and even now after all this time it surprised him how wide they actually were. When full of students you never really realise, he smiled as he made his way over to Emma's office, noticing she was still inside, he tapped the window gently and walked inside as she smiled at him.

"Did you speak to them?" she asked, he nodded as he took the seat opposite her.

"You were right Emma, they're really excited about it," Emma beamed and nodded, Will smiled and watched her, as the pair fell into a comfortable silence, something that the two of them had become accustomed to over the last year or so. After a few minutes, Emma cleared her throat and smiled softly at Will.

"So, erm, what happens now" she asked, Will shrugged and sat back in his seat.

"Well...now I need to find another chaperone, after all, I can't take the kids all the way over to England on my own can I?" he asked, Emma shook her head slightly.

"No, I guess you can't," she added sweetly, lowering her gaze slightly, failing to look at him for much longer.

"So, I was wondering, you were so good with the kids at Nationals, that maybe you would...purely for the kids of course...maybe you'd like to come to England with us?" Emma blushed and smiled sweetly.

"I'd really like that Will," she smiled, "Purely for the kids of course," Will nodded, suppressing a grin.

"Of course,"

Figgins was sat in his office, his brain had been awash with ideas after receiving that e-mail, he'd always known that Glee Club would be an asset to the school. He couldn't help thinking about the money that he could receive from this, especially if they won. He could sell merchandise, he could force the children to put on concerts, they could sell tickets, invite the media, gain sponsorship deals. The possibilities were endless. He looked at the figures on the page in front of him, and was reasonably pleased with the outcome. He didn't agree with giving into the children and their extracurricular activities money, but he was going to get a fortune back, so he was thinking as this as an investment for the school.

"Hey, can we talk to you for a minute?" He lifted his head and nodded as Will and Emma walked into the room.

"Have you spoken to the children?" he asked as Will closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, they're really excited, are sure we're going to be okay for money?" Will asked, Figgins laughed and nodded.

"It's all being taken care of William," Will glanced at Emma as he took the seat next to her, "Here is a copy of your schedule for the competition, I already took the liberty of e-mailing your reply," Will frowned as Figgins handed him a folder, full of contact details, competition requirements, hotel bookings and the like.

"Oh, well thank you," Will mumbled as he flicked through the folder before passing it to Emma to take a look at.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of your company Emma?" Figgins asked, turning his attention to the shy redhead. Her eyes widened and she glanced at Will for support.

"Emma's agreed to be the other chaperone for the trip, she was great with the kids at Nationals, I think she's just what the kids need at a competition this big," Will explained, Figgins nodded and placed his hands on the desk.

"Very well!" he grinned, "Now rehearsal time, as you're aware school finishes for the year on Friday, how do you intend to rehearse for your upcoming competition?"

"Well, we were hoping to use the auditorium, we really need the stage and the lighting." Will explained, Figgins fell silent as he contemplated this, he glanced over at Emma who was still reading through the file of information.

"Very well William, I will entrust you with a set of keys." He paused for a minute as Will sat forward, "So long as you do not exploit this generous act, after all electricity does not come cheap," Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Figgins opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a set of keys, as well as a cheque book. With a strained expression he held them out at arm's length to Will.

"Emma, I trust that you will keep an eye on William, both here at school, and whilst you are both away. I can't afford any outrageous spending, as I'm sure you well know," Emma nodded her head softly and Figgins smiled.

"Then I wish you both the best of luck," he stood up and Emma and Will followed his lead, Will shook his hand before holding the door open for Emma. He took one final glance at Figgins who was already sitting back behind his desk, staring at his sheet full of figures.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three :D I'm so happy that you all seem to be enjoying this. It's a pleasure to write as it's different to what I usually write, I'm not usually brave enough to concentrate on the cast as a whole, but I'm trying to do that with this story as you'll see as it continues. Hopefully this chapter will give you enough to tide you over until the next update, some progress is being made with our favourite couple :D**

**I don't own Glee - you already know my reasons ;)**

**Enjoy x**

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><p>Puck pulled up in the parking lot of McKinley high and sighed as he stared at the school in front of him, it was bad enough when he had to be here for school but to be spending time here out of choice – that was just plain wrong. He got out of the car and walked into the school, it freaked him out how empty this place was. He was also annoyed with himself at arriving so early, but he had to get out of the house, his sister was driving him insane, and his mum wasn't really helping matters. So that's how he had found himself here so early, he pushed the door open to the auditorium and was surprised to find that he wasn't alone – however he wasn't surprised at who was already inside.<p>

"Oh hello Noah," she smiled, Puck nodded in her direction as he slumped down into one of the chairs. She didn't speak to him again, instead she continued with her warm up exercises. Puck rolled his eyes, but kept his eyes on her as she stretched. She wasn't wearing her usual pleated skirts; instead she was wearing her dance kit, consisting of a pair of leggings and a tight fitting top.

"I know why I'm here early Berry, but why the hell are you here so early?" he suddenly asked, breaking the silence. She jumped up and shrugged as she walked across the stage. He watched as she walked down the steps and approached him.

"Come on Berry, it's summer vacation, and you're here this early," he smirked and Rachel rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.

"I just wanted to get an early start," she mumbled, "Why are you here so early anyway?"

"My sister is driving me mad," he stated bluntly.

"Eden is lovely!" Rachel protested and Puck rolled his eyes. During the brief time that they had dated, his family had loved Rachel. She was so damn perfect; his mother hadn't been too impressed when they had broken up, Rachel and his mother would often catch up when they went to temple, much to Puck's annoyance.

"Whatever Berry," he shrugged, Rachel stared at him and Puck smirked, Rachel nudged him and smiled briefly.

"You're such a child," she grinned, "I really hope Mr Schuster arrives soon, International's aren't that far away, we really need to work on the new songs,"

"Geez Berry, can you not talk about Glee for five minutes," Puck said shaking his head, Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up and walked over to her bag, she bent over and Puck craned his neck to get a better view – the girl was crazy as hell – but her body was crunchy toast tasty. She straightened up slowly and looked over her shoulder, she noticed him staring at her and smirked slightly. Pretending not to notice, she returned to her seat and stretched her legs out in front of her.

"Aren't you excited about going to London, Noah?" Rachel asked quietly, a small smile on her face.

"I can hardly wait Berry," he stated, half bored. Rachel nodded and relaxed in her seat.

"I'm really excited!" she gushed, "I've been doing some research, did you know that London has a theatre district, almost as famous as Broadway?"

"Fascinating," Puck mumbled, only half listening to her now.

"I've heard Buckingham Palace is meant to be beautiful at this time of year, I really hope Mr Schuster makes time in our busy schedules for us to see some of the sights. What do you think, Noah?" Puck rolled his eyes, still amused that his ignorance didn't seem to faze her at all.

"I think..." he paused for a moment as Rachel hung on his every word, "I think you're better when you're quiet," he smirked, Rachel frowned as she nudged him harshly in his side before turning her back on him. The room fell silent again and Puck happily embraced it, it was a rare thing that Rachel actually sat in silence, and he knew that it was only a matter of minutes before she started up again. But it didn't, and that scared him more than her over talking.

The two were pulled out of their separate thoughts as Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury walked into the auditorium.

"Mr Schuster, I've been working on possible set lists, I'm sure you'll agree that they will demonstrate New Directions to the best of our abilities," Rachel grinned. Puck rolled his eyes and slouched further down in his seat. Rachel noticed Puck's less than appreciative behaviour and huffed loudly as Mr Schuster shook his head.

"Already sorted Rachel," he pulled a pile of sheet music out of his bag and held it up for her to see.

"Well Internationals are only a few weeks away Mr Schuster, we need to be prepared," Rachel stated in a matter of fact manner before the rest of New Directions began walking into the auditorium. Rachel smiled when she noticed Blaine and Kurt approaching her and taking the two seats next to her. The rest of the group sat down and started talking quietly before Will managed to quieten the group. He cleared his throat and stood up in front of them all.

"Okay guys, as you know, we've got a lot of work to do in a short space of time." There were some murmurs of agreement from everyone, but Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to listen. "Now, here are a copy of the rules for this competition for each of you," he smiled as Emma began to frantically hand each of them their own copy. Rachel began to quickly read through them, before pausing when she came to page about set lists.

"We've got to learn another six numbers?" was Kurt's response, he glanced at Mercedes and Blaine before rolling his eyes, Will smiled at the kids and nodded.

"I know it's going to be a lot of hard work, but I've got every faith in you kids, you work best when you're under pressure." Rachel smiled proudly at everyone; Blaine was the only one to return the smile, as usual.

"So we need to perform 2 perform ballads, a duet and a solo," he turned to face Rachel and handed her a piece of music, "Rachel you're going to take the solo," she nodded eagerly and glanced at the page relatively pleased with his suggestion, Blaine reached across her and picked up, giving her a nod of approval.

"Mr Schue?" there was a pause as all eyes turned to face Finn, "I think Rachel and I should do the duet, we all know it'll be our best chance of winning," Rachel rolled her eyes and Blaine squeezed her hand gently, trying to keep her calm.

"In case you've forgotten Finn, I've been singing with Blaine all year and we've just won Nationals, I think we'll be fine," Blaine laughed as Rachel finished her rant. Finn frowned and sunk further down into his seat. Ever since Blaine transferred to McKinley Finn had certainly felt pushed to the side, as far as leading man material went. Blaine, coming from being the lead vocalist of The Warblers, was the only male willing to fight Finn for the lead, of course Kurt was thrilled for his boyfriend to take over the lead, but surprisingly the other members of New Directions agreed to listen to how Blaine and Rachel sounded together, and after an unanimous vote Blaine won and had been singing lead with Rachel ever since. Will glanced at Finn and smiled at him before focussing his attention on Puck and Rachel who were sitting on the front the row.

"I actually had something different in mind this time," he smiled, "I was really impressed with the way that you two co operated with each other at Nationals, I know that I took a risk pairing you both together, but it worked," Will nodded and Rachel gave him a look that clearly said concern, causing Puck to sit up straight in his chair, he knew him dancing with Rachel was only going to cause him problems. The only reason Puck and Rachel had been forced together in the first place was because Rachel couldn't stand to be anywhere within touching distance of Finn, so at the last minute Puck swapped to dance with Rachel and Lauren swapped to dance with Finn.

"I want you two to perform the duet,"

"What?" Puck snapped, Will sighed and sat down staring at the two teens.

"Mr Schuster, I've been singing with Blaine all year, it's too risky to change things now," Rachel stated, Will nodded and smiled.

"Like I said Rachel, I'm mixing things up a little, I saw the chemistry you two had at Nationals when you were dancing together," Puck frowned as Rachel opened her mouth, but found herself speechless. Puck smirked as his attention flicked to her for a moment – Rachel Berry was actually speechless, it had never happened before.

"This is the song I want you two to sing," he handed each of them a piece of sheet music and a CD. Rachel read the title and frowned slightly.

"Mr Schuster, I've never heard this song before,"

"This is an classic English ballad, it's usually performed by a boy band, but I thought we could mix it up a little and use it as our duet," Rachel frowned as she stared at the paper in front of her, she usually relished the spot light on her, but she'd never heard of this song before and her music taste was incredible. Maybe Mr Schuster had finally lost it; he'd come close before, maybe the stress had finally gotten to him?

"Maybe you should give the duet to Blaine Mr Schue, like Berry said, he's used to doing them." Puck sighed, glancing between Rachel and the piece of paper in his hand; he acted as if the latter was burning into his skin. Blaine glanced across to Puck and shrugged, clearly surprised by the Will's decision, but supportive of him regardless. Will shook his head and smiled.

"The duet is yours Puck, now you two are going to have to work extra hard together, what with the group numbers as well, but I'm sure you can do it." Puck groaned inwardly, even though he and Rachel had dated one upon a time, it was only a means of convenience; there was nothing in it. The thought of spending all that time alone with her, it terrified him senselessly, she always delved deep into competition mode and only snapped out of it once the competition had been declared over, she was a competition monster. Puck was badass, but he was definitely no match for Rachel Berry when she was in full competition mode. Rachel on the other hand was distraught, she loved performing with Blaine, they had a really great chemistry on stage that no other club had been able to replicate yet. She knew him so well, she knew how he worked, how he prepared for a competition. Then there was Puck – Noah – she also knew how his mind worked, and it definitely didn't fit into her game plan for competition warm up. This could only spell disaster. Will watched the two teens anxiously, they could barely look at each other. He smiled at Emma who was already having doubts about his choices,

"Okay guys, let's start with the group number," Will announced before walking to the centre of the stage. The rest of New Directions began to move and Rachel let out a quiet sigh, Blaine noticed and gave her an encouraging smile.

"So...I'll draw up a rehearsal schedule for you," Rachel mumbled, turning to face Puck for the first time since they had been given the news. Puck rolled his eyes again, something that infuriated Rachel to no end.

"Can't you just call me like a normal person?" he snapped quickly before getting to his feet and joining the others on the stage. Rachel rolled her eyes and followed him, catching up with Blaine and Kurt.

The atmosphere between everyone was full of excitement as rehearsals got underway, Mr Schuster had given them their set list and a copy of the competition rules, and after a few heated words from Mercedes and Kurt about his selections for the solo and duet, they were well and truly on their way. As Will divided the kids into groups, girls on one side, boys on the other, he decided to work on the smaller numbers before starting on the big group numbers. As the boy's rehearsal got underway, Emma assisted the girls in selecting their costumes for each respective number. They'd come on a lot since their first performance, they'd grown as a group and it made discussions like this a lot easier than it ever had been before.

"Maybe we should wait for Kurt, you know he likes to be included in the costume choices," Mercedes stated as she flicked through a selection of catalogues that Emma had brought with her. The girls exchanged glances and Quinn shook her head.

"We'll consult him later, we need to make a start," Mercedes nodded and the girls huddled around, working through each number until they were satisfied with their choices.

"I think for our number we should each wear bright colours," Quinn grinned, Santana rolled her eyes and Brittany clapped her hands.

"Well, it would definitely make a change from wearing black all the time,"

"Think about it, we're performing a Katy Perry song, she's always wearing something colourful, and 'Hot 'n' Cold is such a fun song, we'd look awesome!" The girls nodded as Emma jotted down the girls suggestions, wincing as the girls tore pages out of her perfectly kept catalogues. As time wore on, the girls had decided to resurrect some of their old costumes, as to save some money from their budget, and also selected a range of new costumes to enable to stand out from the other clubs. The boys would be wearing their leathers from their first mash up, the girls agreed that it was a good look for their performance of 'Don't Stop Me Now.' As for the group numbers, they had decided to resurrect their costumes from 'Hello, Goodbye', they figured that as they were sticking with the original choreography then using their old costumes wouldn't really hurt either. It was the other group number that was causing them problems; each of them had their own ideas. They were performing 'I've Got a Feeling', Santana and Brittany wanted to wear something sassy and sexy, whereas Rachel and Tina wanted something a little more understated. Eventually they decided on the boys wearing jeans and black shirt, and the girls wearing outfits inspired by their funk number that they used against Vocal Adrenaline during their first year of Glee – bright colours and short skirts or shorts. Emma knew that giving the girls a free reign on this number could cause trouble, as they each had different taste, some willing to show more flesh than others. But she held her breath and kept her thoughts to herself for the time being.

Will called the kids together again later that day, and congratulated them on their first day of rehearsals. Overall he was pleased with where they were heading, he listened as the girls discussed their costume choices, and then watched as Kurt felt the need to criticise some of their choices and add a little of his own flare into the mixture.

"Great rehearsal today everyone, I mean it," he grinned as everyone began gathering their belongings. "Tomorrow morning I'm going to work on the girls number, boys you'll be working on your own, then tomorrow afternoon I want to run through the group numbers,"

Everyone nodded and made their way out of the auditorium, as Puck slung his back over his shoulder, Rachel hurried to catch up with him. She tapped him gently on his shoulder and paused as she waited for him to face her.

"What do you want Berry?" he asked his tone full of boredom already.

"My dads are out tonight," she smiled, he arched his eyebrow at her and smirked, she rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.

"It's nothing like that, as you well know!" she stated angrily, "I was simply saying that my dad's were out tonight and we could use my basement to rehearse,"

Puck nodded and turned on his heel, Rachel sighed loudly. She had a lot of work to do to whip him into shape, she was damned if she was going to arrive at the competition at anything less than her best.

Later that evening, Puck was sat in Rachel's lounge, after running through the song no less than 10 times that evening. Rachel passed him a cool glass of lemonade and she sat down next to him.

"I can't believe we actually have to sing this song, it's so lame!" he complained, Rachel rolled her eyes, he'd done nothing else since he had arrived earlier that evening. She was aware that Noah had an edgier music taste, and the thought of singing a ballad, especially a ballad as loving as this one, didn't really do much for his badass reputation. Rachel, however had done her research, she'd taken the time out of her busy schedule to look for the song on YouTube and had been pleasantly surprised to find out that their ballad, as well the band's back catalogue had been made into a very successful stage show in the UK. She knew that if they managed to sing it with the conviction and the passion that she'd seen in the stage version, then they'd be perfectly fine in competition.

"You're doing fine Noah, it's going to take some time getting used to the lead vocals," she explained, he nodded and rested his head on the back of the sofa.

"I know I'm pushing you a lot, but it'll be worth it in the end," she smiled, Puck sat up and stared at her, she shrank back into her seat when his attention shifted onto her.

"You really care about this don't you?" he asked quietly, she nodded and took a sip from her glass.

"It probably sounds ridiculous to the likes of you, but being on the stage is the only place that I have ever felt as if I truly belong," she admitted slowly, he nodded and smiled at her, before rethinking his actions and placing his glass on the table in front of him. He shook his head and smirked at her, as he stretched back into his seat.

"So how do I compare to Anderson, I know you were gutted that you got landed with me instead of him." He tried to hide the bitterness in his voice, a little stunned at where that tone came from. She frowned at him and shook her head.

"It's not like that Noah, you're a wonderful performer, it's just Blaine has the experience that is needed at one of these competitions, it's a lot to take in, especially for your first time,"

"Whatever Berry,"

So it continued, New Directions rehearsed all day everyday for the next week and a half, with Puck and Rachel meeting up every evening to rehearse their duet. Rachel also had the added pressure of working on her solo whenever she had any free time. Gradually the pair were becoming accustomed to each other's company again. Rachel was thrilled that Puck seemed to be taking a back seat again and Noah was coming to the forefront and that was the side of him that she didn't seem to mind spending time with. Will had arranged a final dress rehearsal two days before they were due to fly out to England, and he was thrilled with what he had seen. As he watched them perform, he knew at that very moment that he could not be more proud of them if he tried. He was filled with a mix of emotions as the kids said their goodbyes after their final rehearsal, knowing that the next time he would see them would be at the airport.

"Will, are you okay?" Emma asked quietly when they were finally left alone, he smiled and nodded – Emma had been brilliant over the last week or so, she had worked tirelessly making sure that everyone had the correct costumes, and that they were sticking to the schedule. Will had no doubt that he had made the right decision in asking her to come with them.

"Couldn't be happier Emma," he smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter. You all seem to be really enjoying this, which is always nice to hear :) They're finally on their way now, and the story can properly begin. Hopefully you'll like the friendship between Blaine and Rachel here (Something I'm hoping for in Season three) and of course there is plenty of Puckleberry interactions.**

**Enjoy x**

* * *

><p>Rachel walked at full force through the parking lot, her father's attempting to keep up her, both failing miserably. With her passport firmly in her hand and a defiant look in her eye, she was ready for the off. Once inside, Rachel scanned the airport, hoping to see a familiar face, she let out a disappointed sigh noting that no one had taken her initiative and arrived early. She had originally planned on travelling with Kurt and Blaine, but once they'd informed them that Carole and Burt were insisting on driving them to the airport, with Finn in tow, she quickly changed her mind and arranged to meet them at the airport with the rest of New Directions, a decision that she was quickly becoming to regret. She shook her head as her father's finally caught up with her.<p>

"Rachel, did you really need to walk that quickly? You're not going to miss the plane," Rachel smiled at her dad and shrugged.

"As captain of New Directions, I felt it was my duty to arrive early, as you should well know, I'm a very efficient person," her dad nodded and Rachel scanned the airport once more.

"You know, I'll be fine now, especially if you two want to get going," Rachel hugged both of them individually and gave them each one of her megawatt smiles. Both simply shook their head and grinned at their daughter's eager behaviour.

"Rachel, honey," her dad started, "We're not going to just leave you here, we'll wait with you until some of your friends arrive," Rachel sighed but nodded nonetheless.

She was so excited to get going, although she knew that they had to wait to board the plane, this was a very exciting experience for her, something that she knew would prepare her for the future when she'd be jet setting across the world, playing for all sorts of audiences. She was also aware of the fun that they were going to have whilst they were away. Rachel had done her research, she knew exactly where she wanted to go in London, and all og the sights she wanted to see for herself. She had a made a list and sorted them in order of importance, she had colour coded them based on their enjoyment levels and educational values, she'd also made copies just in case the rest of New Directions had wanted to follow her example and structure their trip perfectly. Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury were fantastic chaperones, they had complete trust in their students whilst at Nationals, allowing them to see New York for themselves, without been herded like sheep, it had also been a great bonding experience for them as a group.

"Oh look, there's Noah!" Rachel grinned, picking up the handle of her case and pulling it across the airport, her father's rolled their eyes and followed their daughter once more.

"Noah!" Rachel grinned as she finally caught up with him, he turned to face her, then glanced in the direction of her fathers who were approaching behind her.

"'Sup Berry?" he grunted,

"It seems we're the first to arrive again," Rachel smiled, "Or have you noticed anyone upon your arrival?"

"Just got here Berry, mom had to get back for Eden," Rachel nodded and turned to face her fathers, her eyes pleading with them. They exchanged glances and nodded.

"Okay Rachel, I suppose we can trust Noah to keep an eye on you, and I'm sure Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury will be here momentarily," Rachel grinned and hugged them both one final time.

"Now you both have fun now and good luck in the competition," Puck nodded and Rachel beamed at them both. Once the two men were finally out of earshot, Rachel turned around to face Puck.

"I really can't believe that the others haven't shown up yet, I thought Kurt and Blaine would be here early at least. I thought that today of all days they would consider being more prepared, especially Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury. I for one am very disappointed in the team right now."

"Geez, Berry, please give it a rest, it's like, 7am and it's summer vacation," Rachel frowned and crossed her arms defiantly. Puck smirked and swung his bag over his shoulder,

"Come on Berry, let's go see if we can find the others," Rachel sighed and picked up her case and wheeled it behind her.

It didn't take too long to find the others, turns out they were all waiting on the other side of the airport, Rachel rolled her eyes at Mr Schuster's failure to alert the whole group, after all, if she'd have known that they were meeting up here, then she would have alerted her father's prior to them parking. Puck and Rachel separated almost immediately, each of them moving towards their own sub group of friends.

"Hey!" Blaine grinned as he hugged Rachel, "I thought you would have been here earlier," Rachel rolled her eyes and grinned at him, before noticing Kurt watching her suspiciously.

"Kurt, are you okay?" Rachel asked, he smoothed his hair and sighed.

"I was just admiring your choice of clothing for the journey, I notice that even a trip to London hasn't improved matters," Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled at her friends, she had become accustomed to his 'insults' now, and found that she wasn't affected by them, and deep down she knew that he didn't really mean them, it was just his way of being a friend towards her.

"I am so stoked for this, I hardly slept last night thinking about it," Mercedes grinned, changing the subject. Rachel smiled at her friend's excitement.

The friends spent the rest of the time before check in talking animatedly about everything and anything, Kurt and Mercedes discussing every item of clothing that they had brought along, Kurt obviously crushed that he had to leave some behind, especially as Mr Schuster had limited each of them to bringing one piece of luggage. Nationals had been the last straw for him, Kurt had brought 2 extremely large cases, plus a piece of carry on luggage that had only just managed to be allowed onto the plane. Kurt still hadn't properly forgiven Mr Schuster for his luggage limitation. Whilst Kurt and Mercedes discussed their fashion choices, Blaine started to talking to Rachel.

"So, how are things with Puck?" he asked, Rachel rolled her eyes and smirked at him.

"Same as always," she laughed, "I think I'd be more concerned if they actually changed,"

"Well, you've both been spending a lot of time together recently," Blaine grinned at her and Rachel nudged him in his side.

"I assure you, we've only been rehearsing," Blaine shrugged and glanced over in Puck's direction, who was now talking to Sam and Mike.

"Well, I wouldn't blame you if anything did happen," Blaine smirked, "He's pretty hot." Rachel started laughing as Kurt turned around quickly, demanding to know whom Blaine was talking about.

Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury continued to scan through the group, checking everyone was where they were supposed to be, and making sure that no one had strayed from the group. Rachel watched on as the airport began to fill up, she glanced at Mr Schuster and could clearly see that he was slightly in over his head, in her own opinion she was pretty glad that Miss Pillsbury had agreed to travel with them as she was just like Rachel when it came to organisation skills. Both chaperones had gathered the teens around and guided them towards the check in desk; Mr Schuster split them into two groups, making it easier and much quicker for them all to check in.

The teens did as they were told, presenting their passports at the right time, handing over their cases to be loaded onto the plane, before walking over and gathering away from the desk.

"Okay everyone, gather round," Mr Schuster shouted as he walked over to the group with Artie and Miss Pillsbury.

"Now, I've been given your tickets and..."

"Don't tell me, we've been upgraded to first class," Kurt asked eagerly, Mr Schuster shook his head and laughed.

"No, sorry Kurt, that's not it," he smiled, as Kurt let out a deflated sigh, Mercedes rolled her eyes and patted her friends back comfortingly. Blaine glanced at Rachel and the pair started laughing again. "Now, we're all sitting together, but you must stick to your allocated seats," Everyone nodded and Mr Schuster passed on half of the tickets to Miss Pillsbury to pass around. Gradually everyone received their tickets and were pleased to see who they would be sitting next to for the next 11 hours; the final two tickets were left for Rachel and Puck.

"You've got to be kidding me," Puck grumbled as he received his ticket, Rachel smiled and shrugged,

"I think it's a perfect opportunity for us to discuss our duet, maybe listen to the song a few times, I think it will be really good for us," Puck rolled his eyes and walked over to join Sam and Mike. Rachel frowned as Blaine approached her again, with Kurt and Mercedes following him.

"You okay Rachel?" he asked, her frown soon lifted and she turned around to face him.

"I'm fine, sadly the same cannot be said for Noah, it seems he isn't exactly happy to be sitting next to me for the next 11 hours," she said in a sad tone, Blaine smiled and shook his head.

"He'll be okay, he just gets cranky in the morning, you remember what he was like the first morning in New York" Rachel smiled as she recalled the memory, it was Blaine's first official trip with New Directions that involved being away from home for longer than a day. For the rest of New Directions, they all knew how to approach him and allow him to wake up in his own time; Blaine however had to learn the hard way. Apparently Puck didn't take too well to Blaine's usual dapper attitude so early in the morning. Since then, Blaine didn't bother talking to him until at least 10am, just to be sure.

"You were terrified of him," Rachel laughed, and Blaine pretended to be offended.

"Have you seen the size of him Rachel? The guy would've trampled me," Rachel laughed loudly,

"I'm sure you're right about him not being a morning person. So who are you sitting with?" she asked.

"Sam, I think," Blaine shrugged, it didn't really bother him who was sitting with, since transferring, he'd been pretty much accepted with open arms and got along with everyone in the group. They were his friends now, not just Kurt's and he liked that. He had issues with Finn, but that was only because of the way that he'd treated Rachel, it was still pretty awkward when he was at Kurt's house and had to make small talk with the guy who had pretty much broke his best friend's heart. Rachel patted his arm gently before they heard their flight number being announced. Everyone soon turned into panic, Mr Schuster and Miss Pillsbury watched as the kids scrambled around, pulling each other up, and picking up various pieces of hand luggage.

"Guys!" Mr Schuster shouted, everyone froze and turned to face him.

"Now, I want everyone to split into pairs, preferably with the person you're sitting next to on the plane, I don't want any of you to be split from the group," everyone nodded and moved in the direction of their "travel buddy". Artie wheeled over to Finn, Kurt and Mercedes linked arms and sent and apologetic look over to Blaine and Rachel, knowing that they'd be all split for the next eleven hours. Tina walked over to join Quinn who was glancing at Sam as he walked in Blaine and Rachel's direction, Santana and Brittany had somehow managed to stay together and Mike sighed as he walked over and joined Lauren. Rachel sighed as approached her.

"'Berry," he mumbled as the group headed off in the direction of the departure gate.

As Puck stormed ahead, Rachel found it a struggle to keep up with him, she rolled her eyes and frowned at him, he noticed this and smirked at her, angering her even more.

"Noah, could you please slow down, Mr Schuster said that we have to stick together," she stated defiantly.

"What's the matter Berry, can't take the pace?" he smirked,

"You're taller than I am, your strides are clearly wider than mine," she explained, Puck rolled his eyes and clasped his hand tightly around her wrist. Rachel flinched at the contact, they hadn't been this close since they had dated briefly, even for the number they were working on, he refused to even act intimate towards her.

"Come on Berry!" he grunted, pulling her along with him. Rachel didn't say anything, still stunned by his actions. She allowed herself to be dragged through the airport, aware that for anyone who witnessed them probably thought that they were a young couple jetting off together for a summer vacation, she just felt grateful that she knew the truth. When they had finally caught up with the rest of the group, they were immediately face with twelve pairs of eyes, Puck broke the contact almost immediately as the pair joined the back of the line, Puck turned away from Rachel, who simply smiled at her friends.

"Well, well, well," Kurt grinned turning around to face her, Mercedes and Blaine following his lead.

"Why, may I ask, were you and Puck holding hands back there?" Kurt whispered, making sure not to be overheard by Puck, who had now started talking to Sam again.

"We were not holding hands," Rachel stated clearly.

"Oh, but you were, we've got several witnesses who can prove it," he smirked; Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled at them all, noticing the eager expressions on Mercedes and Blaine's faces.

"We were definitely not holding hands, Noah thought it was appropriate to pull me through the airport by my wrist, apparently I was slowing him down," she stated in her usual manner, "Although I explained to him, he is much taller than I am..."

"Sure, whatever," Kurt smirked, holding his hand up to silence her, before linking arms with Mercedes again as the line started moving forward.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked, Rachel shook her head and grinned at him,

"Like I told your boyfriend, there is nothing going on!" Blaine laughed as he shuffled forward with Sam. Puck turned around again and Rachel caught his eye, she smiled nervously at him as they slowly moved forward, neither of them really speaking to each other.

Once on the plane, Mr Schuster found himself desperately trying to make sure that the kids were not about to disturb the rest of the passengers on the plane. He rolled his eyes as they continued to laugh loudly, obstructing the aisles as people were trying to get past them. Rachel and Puck were the last to board the plane from their group, and discovered that their seats were behind the rest of New Directions, something Mr Schuster had failed to tell them both beforehand. Puck placed his carryon luggage in the overhead compartment with ease and slumped down into his seat. Rachel huffed loudly as she attempted to place her bag into the compartment, noticing that her height was holding her back once more. She sighed loudly and tried once more, aware that a queue was forming behind her; she huffed as she tried to force the bag above her head. Puck watched her struggle for a while, a little smug to see her struggle with something for once in her life, but he couldn't put it off for much longer. He stood up and pulled her bag out of her hand, she watched him as he easily placed it above her head.

"Thank you Noah," she smiled gratefully, he shrugged and Rachel quickly made her way into her seat. The pair sat in silence for a while, listening to the rest of New Directions talk happily with each other. Rachel was clearly uncomfortable in this position, never one to remain quiet for too long, she glanced at Puck who was clearly ignoring her. She pouted and sat back in her seat, and fastened her seatbelt eyes permanently facing forward. The plane fell silent as everyone turned to watch the safety demonstration, Puck slouched in his seat,, a bored expression on his face, but Rachel watched on intently, absorbing everything that they were being told. Puck glanced at her and smirked, the girl just never changed. The flight attendants finally sat down and the plane began to move very slowly, and through the corner of his eye Puck noticed Rachel's body tense.

"You okay Berry?" he whispered, leaning into her. She turned her head, their faces only inches apart.

"I'm perfectly fine Noah!" she snapped, a little more abrupt than she had planned, Puck pulled back and shrugged.

"Whatever,"

Rachel took a deep breath as the plane continued to move, she glanced at Puck one more time, who was now refusing to look at her, she shook her head and faced forward again. The plane picked up speed and as it began to ascend Rachel let out a shriek and buried her head into Puck's side. Puck smirked and turned to face her amused by her sudden change of behaviour.

"Berry, are you afraid of flying?" He asked as he quietly leant over her head, slowly she lifted her head and her eyes met his.

"It's not the flying that I'm afraid of," she sighed quietly, "I just have a phobia of taking off and landing. It's a very common phobia Noah."

Puck rolled his eyes and nodded as she stayed glued to his side for the next couple of minutes, he sighed and looked behind him making sure that no one was watching him and that they wouldn't be overheard. He awkwardly lifted his arm and placed it around Rachel's shoulders; in his own way he knew that he was being some sort of comfort to her. Rachel slowly lifted her head feeling Puck's arm around her, she caught his eye and the pair exchanged awkward smiles with each other. Rachel felt at ease for first time since stepping onto the plane, even when she had been sitting next to Finn on the plane he hadn't been as comforting or as understanding as Puck had been in the last few minutes. Yes, flying with Puck definitely had its advantages. The plane gradually began to settle and as the seatbelt light was turned off, Rachel slowly sat up to her natural position as Puck slowly removed his arm.

"Thank you Noah," she smiled, Puck shrugged and glanced around again, noticing that the rest of New Directions were already engaged in their conversations, so much for team unity! He sighed and rested his head on the back of his seat.

"I know that I wasn't your ideal travel buddy on this trip," Rachel said quietly, "I'll try not to annoy you too much," Now he felt guilty. He sat up and turned his head to face her, he gave her a smile, something that shook her, especially as she was more used to seeing his confident smirk.

"Look, we're going to be stuck together for the next eleven hours Berry," he stated, "Now as long as you keep your crazy to a minimal then I think we'll be okay," Rachel nodded and smiled.

"I can do that," she grinned, and there and then the pair had reached their own mutual agreement, both of them realising that it was much easier than either would've thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all of the lovely comments regarding the last chapter. I really appreciated them all. I love that you're all enjoying the contrast in Puck's personality. This is why I love him, he's such a badass on the outside, but on the inside he's a giant softie and actually cares about the people around him, especially his 'hot american jewish princess' :D**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one.**

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><p>The flight soon past and Rachel and Puck realised that travelling together wasn't such a bad idea after all, away from all the crazy, Rachel was okay, and Puck discovered that he could actually enjoy her company; he just wasn't going to tell her that – after all he still had his badass reputation to protect. Rachel meanwhile, was thrilled that she hadn't been forced into silence throughout the journey, away from prying eyes Rachel was glad that she could actually get to see Noah and not deal with the pretence that he put up for everyone else. The pair had watched the in flight movie together, and gradually relaxed into each other's company. When the time had finally come to land, Puck had instinctively placed his arm around Rachel and pulled her closer to him, she smiled gratefully and buried her head into his side.<p>

"I'm really pleased you came with us Emma, I don't think I would've been able to cope without you," Will confided as the pair waited to land, Emma blushed and smiled at him.

"Will, you're a great teacher, without you there is no Glee, the kids know that," Will shrugged and sat back into his chair. The flight had been pleasant enough, Will had been thrilled that the kids had been on their best behaviour, he'd also been thrilled that the seating arrangements hadn't caused an argument between the teens.

"Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It is now eleven am here in London and we would like to thank you for choosing Atlantic airways today," The plane was filled with excited chatter as the plane gradually came to a stop, Rachel slowly sat up and sighed, she had been so comfortable sitting next to Puck for the duration of the journey, she really didn't want to move now. Puck released his grip on her and the two teens sat upright, neither of them daring to look at each other. The plane came to a standstill and the seatbelt light was switched off, then everything turned to chaos, as everyone jumped to their feet, Will and Emma desperately tried to calm the teens who seemed to have rapidly developed cabin fever.

"Guys, this is important now, I need you all to remain calm and as you leave the plane I want you all to gather at a suitable meeting place, and nobody is to move until me or Miss Pillsbury says so!" Will shouted amongst the chaos, the group of teens nodded and stood up again searching for their bags and anything else that may have been mislaid on the journey. Puck stood up and opened the luggage holder and pulled out his bag, he glanced in Rachel's direction, who was sitting sleepily in her chair, he shrugged and grabbed her bag in the process. He closed the door and sat back down next to her.

"Here," he said, thrusting her bag at her.

"Oh, thank you Noah," she smiled, Puck nodded and glanced in front of him looking at the rest of the group. Tina and Quinn looked exhausted as they scrambled for their bags from the luggage hold, Santana was sat comfortably in her seat watching as Brittany struggled to collect both of their bags. Finn was trying to help Artie gather his belongings and Blaine and Sam began to move slowly in front of everyone, surprising Puck when Sam started frantically trying to get Quinn's bag before she could. Puck rolled his eyes at his friend before landing on the two fashion divas – Kurt and Mercedes – in front. Puck smirked as he watched them fix their hair in their hand held mirrors; Mike and Lauren were the only people actively relatively normal. Puck smiled fondly at Lauren, their romance had been pretty short lived, both of them agreeing that they were much better off as friends. Puck's attention was soon drawn back to Rachel who was trying to stifle a yawn. He smiled at her and she blushed.

"I don't sleep to well on planes," she admitted, a flush of pink appearing on her cheeks.

"Don't sweat it," he shrugged as everyone stood up and slowly began exiting the plane. Rachel and Puck walked off together, every member of New Directions to exhausted to comment on the pairs sudden friendship.

"If Mr Schue thinks I'm rehearsing this afternoon, then he's got another thing coming," Mercedes announced as she leant against the wall, Kurt nodded and smiled as Blaine finally caught up with them.

"Man, eleven hours on plane, now that's exhausting," he groaned, as Sam dumped his bag and smiling slightly when Quinn and Tina finally caught up with the group. The rest of New Directions started talking quietly as they waited for their teacher to join them.

"Next time we travel, I'm putting in a request for first class," Kurt stated, "Those seats did nothing for my posture," Rachel rolled her eyes and tried to stifle a yawn again as Blaine smiled and tried to comfort his boyfriend. She'd always had a strict sleep regime; always getting her recommended 8 hours sleep a night. Puck caught sight of her again as he started talking to Mike and Sam, he smirked and tried to focus his attention to his friends.

"Okay guys, I'm just going to do a quick head count, then we can move onto passport control," Will announced.

"Mr Schuster," Rachel said loudly, "In your absence, I took the liberty of making sure that everyone was accounted for," Will nodded and smiled at her.

"Thank you Rachel," Rachel nodded proudly, still a little put off that Emma insisted counting everyone just in case, Rachel may be tired, but she could still count to fourteen.

"Okay everyone, I want you all to stick together as we go through passport control, we'll collect our luggage together," Will shouted as the group of teens sleepily walked towards passport control. They split into 3 groups, Emma taking charge of Mercedes, Kurt, Blaine, Finn, Mike and Tina. Will took control of Artie, Brittany, Santana and Lauren, and Rachel took control of her group.

Rachel and her group managed to get through the system relatively quick, they stood quietly waiting for the rest of the group to catch up, each of them too tired for anything else. Rachel glanced over at Quinn and Sam who were smiling at each other, making polite small talk.

"Hey Rachel," Rachel looked up and smiled as Blaine and Kurt approached her.

"Hey Blaine, how did you find the flight?" she asked, Blaine shrugged and stretched.

"It was alright, glad it's over now though, I didn't realise how much Sam could sleep," Rachel giggled and nodded, "What about you, was Puck okay with you?"

Rachel smiled and nodded as she remembered how kind he had been to her throughout the flight, he had been so caring making sure she was okay when the plane had taken off, and again when it landed.

"Yes, Noah was a very considerate travel buddy," Blaine shrugged as Kurt rested his head on his shoulder and Rachel noticed that the rest of New Directions were walking towards them. Rachel turned her attention to the group as Mr Schuster directed them over to the baggage claim area. Rachel predicted chaos straight away as everyone began pushing their way forward desperate to collect their luggage. Kurt made no effort to quieten his voice, claiming physical harm to the staff if there was so much of a scratch on his designer case. Rachel rolled her eyes as she stood firm in place waiting patiently although as the rest of the group crowded around her she found herself pressed firmly against Puck's toned body, she slowly lifted her head and as realisation hit her she turned a pale shade of pink, Puck gave her his trademark smirk and she slowly stepped away from him. The pair stood in silence as the baggage carousel began to move slowly and the first few bags began to emerge, seconds later Puck spotted his bag and lifted it with ease once it was firmly on the ground he began to push his way through the crowd, only stopping when he heard an extremely feminine grunt that he predicted belonged to Rachel. Turning on the spot he rolled his eyes when he noticed Rachel struggling to retrieve her bag, he was further frustrated when he saw that none of the other guys had even bothered to help her through her struggle, Blaine was too busy trying to keep Kurt calm, sighing angrily to himself Puck moved forward and pulled her, pink and sparkly, case from the carousel and dropped it to the floor with a loud thud, Rachel lifted her eyes and beamed up at him.

"Thank you Noah, that was very kind of you!"

Puck shrugged and pulled her and her case out of the chaos, collecting his own as he pushed through the crowd. Rachel allowed herself to be dragged through the crowd, too tired to protest that she was quite capable of walking of her own accord.

New Directions had taken a coach to the hotel, in which they would be staying, whereas Will and Emma had anticipated a very quiet journey, the kids were now all wide-awake now. Rachel and Puck had somehow been separated for the journey, Rachel sitting next to Mercedes with Kurt and Blaine next to them, and Puck sat next to Sam with Santana and Brittany at the back of the bus. When everyone finally managed to get off the bus, they were all taken in my size of the 'Cumberland Hotel,' which Rachel was quick to point out was just outside of London's West End.

"Oh. My. Gucci!" Kurt stated dramatically as he eyed the hotel, "This place is Amazing!"

"This is so exciting Noah!" Rachel squealed jumping up and down next to him, his eyes followed her, watching as the excitement fuelled her. Slowly he turned away from her and walked over to collect his bag, Rachel stopped suddenly realising that he had disappeared, she sighed and glanced around at her teammates, who, like her were all suddenly overwhelmed by their surroundings. Slowly everyone walked into the hotel lobby, no one truly listening when Emma and Will announced that they were going to check everyone in and collect their room keys.

"Dude, have you seen the gym they've got here." Sam shouted as he ran over to Puck, Rachel smiled and walked in the direction of Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine.

"We have got to visit Selfridges," Kurt stated,

"Totally, we have to visit all of the major designer stores," Mercedes chipped in.

"Actually, I was thinking we could take in the sights," Rachel smiled, "We're literally living in the West End right now, do you know what that means?" she was met by blank expressions from them both, she rolled her eyes.

"It means we get to take in British theatre culture, I've experienced Broadway it's like my second home – as you well know, but London's West End is supposed to be just as big as Broadway,"

"Okay, sure. So anyway, I think we should devise a list all of all the stores that we need to visit before we leave, that way we won't leave any out," Kurt announced turning his back on Rachel. Blaine smiled at her and she shrugged as he turned his attention back to his boyfriend. She sighed and walked over to join Puck who was stood talking to Quinn and Sam.

"Okay guys, gather round, I've got your room keys here," Will announced walking back over to the group of teens, slowly everyone picked up their bags and walked over to the teachers.

"Now, I've tried to be as fair as possible with allocating rooms," Will stated, as Emma stood beside him, ready to allocate the keys when the kids names were called. Luckily they were all on the same floor, although Emma was quick to point out that with seven teenage boys and seven teenage girls, staying on the same level, sparks were bound to fly between them. Will had been quick to remind them to be on their best behaviour and that under no circumstances will girls and boys be sharing a room over night.

"Now, when I've called your name, and Miss Pillsbury has given you your room key, then you can head upstairs and get settled in, it's been a long day and I'm sure we could all do with some rest," The kids nodded and gradually the group began to get smaller and smaller.

Santana and Brittany left first, swiftly followed by Kurt and Finn. Next to be called out were Mercedes, Tina and Lauren, followed by Artie, Blaine and Mike. Rachel smiled, she'd noticed a pattern here, all of the close group of friends were being put next to each other, which only meant one thing, she'd be rooming with Quinn as she was the only girl left, and Sam would be rooming with Puck. She didn't mind sharing a room with Quinn, things had actually calmed down between the pair, there was no longer an on going rivalry between them. Since their first defeat at National's Quinn had accepted Rachel and Finn as a couple and had moved on from it. Then when Finn decided to stray with Santana, Quinn was the only person who understood how Rachel was feeling. They weren't best friends, far from it, but they managed to get along most of the time, which was definitely an improvement.

The young foursome made their way to the elevator, a comfortable atmosphere surrounding them. Rachel had already noticed that Sam and Quinn had been exchanging smiles with each other for a while she knew the signs. They were not the type of smiles you exchanged with just a friend; they were the same smiles that she'd used before with Jesse and Finn. The elevator door opened and Sam and Quinn stepped inside and Rachel was set to follow, only to be gently pulled back by Puck.

"We'll get the next one," he announced, Rachel turned back to face Sam and Quinn and smiled.

"Noah's right, we couldn't all possibly fit inside here, we'll meet you up there," she smiled, stepping backwards and waving to them as the door closed on them. Rachel and Puck stood in silence as they waited for the next elevator to come down to the ground floor. Rachel bit down on her lip and glanced around the hotel, before moving her eyes back to focus on Puck who was slumped against the wall, his eyes half closed. She smiled and tapped him gently as the elevator door opened again.

"Noah, the elevator is here," she whispered gently, his eyes fluttered open and met hers; she smiled at him and slowly took a step back, noticing the how the gap had closed between them. He stood up straight and pulled his case into the elevator, taking care to hold the door for her to squeeze inside. Inside the elevator neither of them could escape from the close proximity, Rachel used this opportunity to steal a few glances of Puck when she thought he wasn't looking. Eventually he cleared his throat and turned to face her, causing her to blush at the thought of being caught staring.

"I...err...I just want to say that, maybe travelling with you wasn't so bad after all," he mumbled quickly, Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Likewise Noah,"

The pair returned to silence as they waited patiently to reach their floor, the door opened slowly and Puck instantly picked up Rachel's case as the pair stepped outside. They walked side by side as Puck walked Rachel to her door where they found Finn and Quinn in deep conversation. Puck cleared his throat loudly and Rachel rolled her eyes as Sam and Quinn both turned a pale shade of pink.

"So anyway, he's your bag," Sam mumbled, Quinn grinned and nodded as she thanked him and walked into her room. Sam backed away and headed in the direction of his room. Puck and Rachel exchanged knowing glances and Puck placed Rachel's case on the floor.

"Thank you Noah, you have been a true gentleman today," she smiled, Puck shrugged and turned to walk away before stopping and turning to face her again.

"You know something Berry?" Rachel shrugged and stared at him waiting for his response, "You're alright,"

Rachel nodded and watched as he walked away, she smiled to herself and walked into her room where Quinn had already claimed the bed closest to the window. She rolled her eyes and placed her bag at the foot of the remaining bed, Quinn smiled at her friends presence and sat down crossed legged on her own bed. Rachel mimicked Quinn's actions, kicking her shoes off in the process.

"So, are you happy to finally be here? I feel like we've been travelling for days," Quinn exclaimed, Rachel laughed and nodded.

"Yes, being in London certainly has its advantages,"


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much to all of those who have spent some time to read this, it means so much to me. Also a special thank you to all of those who have spent some time to leave me a review., as always it means a lot. I'm also so pleased that you all seem to be enjoying the interactions between Puck and Rachel and the different personalities that Puck seems to have. I just love him :D **

**I hope you continue to enjoy this **

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><p>Later that afternoon after everyone had enjoyed a rare few hours of relaxation, Quinn and Rachel found themselves at a bit of a loose end. Rachel was desperate to begin rehearsals straight away stating that none of the other competitors would be using this time to relax and neither should they, Quinn had soon put a block on that before she could persuade the rest of the club to dive straight into rehearsals. Quinn was already aware that Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine had already set out on their all mighty shopping spree, she'd heard them clear it with Mr Schuster earlier that afternoon. Blaine had invited Rachel to join them, but Rachel had declined, an afternoon of shopping not really her thing. As for the rest of the club, Quinn wasn't too sure, but right now she was bored and desperate for something to do before Rachel could rope her into running through the numbers with her.<p>

"Come on Quinn, it'll be fun," Rachel sighed sitting opposite her as Quinn idly flicked through one of her magazines, she'd already read it cover to cover on the plane, but it was just something to pass the time. Quinn rolled her eyes and continued to stare at the page, not wanting to make eye contact with Rachel. She heard Rachel let out a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms, Quinn smirked and turned the page slowly.

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?" Rachel asked loudly, Quinn finally lifted her eyes from the page and closed her magazine before resting her head against the headboard.

"Anything has got to be better than sitting in this room all afternoon," she mumbled, Rachel nodded and the pair fell into silence as they contemplated their plans for the afternoon. A few minutes and Rachel stood up and began pacing across the floor, annoying Quinn to no end. She rolled her eyes and sat up straight.

"Will you please stop doing that!" Quinn hissed, before the girls locked eyes and giggled,

"I'm sorry, I'm just so bored. I'm usually so active at home, I'm not used to just sitting around and not doing anything," Quinn nodded understandably, what with Cheerio's practise and Glee rehearsals, she barely found time for anything else at home, frankly she planned to use this trip as a vacation.

"We could explore the hotel?" Quinn suggested, "I heard that the pool is supposed to be incredible." Rachel considered this and nodded smiling at her friend.

"Maybe that would be fun, although I don't want us to become too distracted so close to competition," Quinn laughed and shook her head as she jumped from the bed and headed to the door.

"Just find your swimsuit, I'm going to ask Sam and Puck if they want to join us," Rachel nodded as she busied herself with sorting out her swimsuit and a fresh towel.

Quinn walked happily through the quiet hallway, happy that she and Rachel had finally found something to do for the rest of the afternoon.

"Oh hi Quinn," she stopped as she recognised the voice behind her,

"Hi Mr Schue," she smiled,

"What are you up to this afternoon?" he asked, "The majority of the club have gone out to explore the area, I was surprised you didn't go with them?"

"No, Rachel and I thought we would explore the hotel, we're thinking of checking out the pool," Will nodded and smiled at her.

"Okay, well you two have fun then," she nodded and turned again walking towards Sam and Puck's room, before suddenly stopping and turning to face her teacher again.

"Mr Schuster!" she shouted loudly, causing an echo throughout the empty hallway, he stopped and smiled as he turned to face her,

"Yeah Quinn?"

"Oh...erm...do you know if Sam went with the others?" she asked.

"No, he should be around here somewhere. Have you tried his room?" He asked, giving her a knowing look, Quinn blushed and shook her head.

"Thank Mr Schue," she smiled as the pair separated and went their own ways. Quinn had a spring in her step as she approached Sam's door, she tapped gently and waited for a reply, she could hear muffled voices on the other side, she rolled her eyes guessing that the boys were probably arguing over who should answer the door. She waited a few seconds and tapped her foot impatiently, she knocked again, a little louder this time.

"I know you're in there, I can hear the TV!" she yelled, knocking the door for a third time when she realised that she was being ignored again. She stepped back when she could hear footsteps behind the door and folded her arms angrily.

"Quinn? What are you doing here?" Sam asked dumbly as he opened the door, she rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"I came over to see if you and Puck wanted to come to the pool with me and Rachel, but I guess I had a wasted trip!" she said icily, Sam sighed and gently took her hand into his.

"I'm sorry, Puck was being a jerk and wouldn't move," he explained, Quinn rolled her eyes again but nodded in agreement, Puck was known for being a jerk, it wasn't difficult to believe Sam's explanation.

"Whatever, everyone else has gone out, and I thought I'd let you know where we were," Sam nodded and watched as she walked away, swaying her hips teasingly as she did so. He gulped and slammed the door behind him.

"Dude, get up!" he said pushing Puck off the bed and pulling his bag from the floor and putting it in Puck's place. Puck stat up angrily and stared at him.

"What the hell?" he shouted, Sam shrugged and began randomly throwing items of clothing across their room.

"Quinn and Rachel are going to check out the pool," Puck rolled his eyes as he pulled himself to his feet.

"And that concerns me how?"

"Dude, just get ready!" Sam snapped. Puck rolled his eyes and picked up his case and placed it on the opposite bed, a small smile now appearing on his face as he considered the idea of Rachel in a swimsuit. He shook his head and began searching for his shorts, he was too badass to think of Rachel Berry like that.

Rachel sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, it's not that she wasn't confident about her body, she worked hard to keep in perfect condition, but she knew that she would look plain no matter what compared to Quinn Fabray, it had always been the same. She just wished that for once she would be considered beautiful, she shrugged and fluffed her hair one final time before stepping out into the bedroom and smiling at Quinn who was now sitting on her own bed waiting for her friend to emerge from the bathroom. Quinn sat up properly and smiled at her friend.

"I love that swimsuit!" she exclaimed, "That colour really suits you," Rachel shrugged and turned around for her friend.

"It's not too much is it?" she asked, Quinn shook her head and stood up.

"You look fine, come on, let's go and find the pool," Rachel nodded and picked up her towel and room key and the girls walked out of their room linking arms with each other, both happy to be finally doing something with their afternoon.

The girls stepped out of the elevator and took a look around them, they were surprised to see hardly anyone around them, although Rachel was quick to point out that even though they had been up for hours, it was still only mid afternoon and that most people in the hotel were probably at work or enjoying their time off by seeing the city of London. Quinn nodded in agreement and the two girls walked into the pool area, even though the standard of the hotel had been pretty high so far, both girls were still impressed by the size of the pool and it's luxurious surrounding area.

"Hey, you two took your time," Quinn smiled and quickly pulled Rachel to the other end of the pool where Sam and Puck had already got themselves comfortable. Sam instantly jumped to his feet as he took Quinn's bag from her and placed her towel on the lounger next to his. Rachel smiled and casually sat down next to Puck, who was watching his friends with a smirk on his face.

"'Sup, Berry?" Rachel jumped and turned to face Puck who had finally acknowledged her existence, she smiled and got herself comfortable.

"Hello Noah, have you had an pleasant afternoon," Puck shrugged and mimicked her as he leant back on his lounger, propping himself up by his elbow as he watched her.

"Didn't really do much, I just slept, you?" Rachel smiled as she relaxed into the conversation.

"Quinn and I had a very relaxing afternoon; we both caught up on some much needed sleep, and both enjoyed a very relaxing shower," Puck smirked and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"You really need to get your mind out of the gutter, Noah," she giggled, lying back. Puck shook his head and lay down properly on his lounger, his eyes flicking in Rachel's direction every now and again as she got herself comfortable. Rachel smiled to herself, as she felt Puck's eyes on her, she willed herself not to turn and look at him, so instead she kept her eyes facing upwards. The two teens were disturbed from their individual thoughts when they heard a loud splash from behind them; Rachel jumped up and glanced around her. Sam was now in the pool splashing around trying to keep a float whilst Quinn was standing on the edge giggling at him. Rachel smiled as she lay back down, now watching Quinn and Sam as she did so.

"Don't you dare Sam!" Quinn squealed loudly as reached up to her, he shook his head and pulled Quinn into the water with him. Puck sat up as watched his friends in the pool he smiled then glanced at Rachel and smirked at her.

"How about taking a swim Berry?" Rachel propped herself up and shook her head.

"Don't even think about it, Noah!" She grinned, Puck stood up and slowly wondered over to her then as quick as a flash he swooped down and lifted her high into the air and carried her towards the pool. She shrieked loudly and began kicking her legs frantically in the air.

"Noah Puckerman, I demand that you put me down this instant!" She yelled.

"Are you sure?" He asked smirking at her.

"Positive Noah, now put me down!"

"If you insist." He grinned before dropping her into the pool, she began furiously splashing around causing the others to laugh at her and when she finally resurfaced she shot a deathly glare in Puck's direction.

"I could have died Noah!" She yelled, "Or worse, I could have damaged my voice, and then where would we be?" Sam and Quinn laughed as Puck shrugged and pulled his shirt over his head revealing his toned body to a now stunned Rachel. He dived into the pool and Rachel quickly moved out of his way.

"You're such a Neanderthal," Rachel mumbled as he swam in her direction, he rolled his eyes and gave her one of his trademark smirks.

"You really need to learn how to relax, Berry!" he laughed.

"I'll have you know Noah, that I know how to relax perfectly well, ask anyone!" she frowned, "Ask Quinn!"

Quinn whipped his head around to face the now bickering Rachel and Puck, her eyes flickering between the pair; she gulped and glanced at Sam who was laughing at them both.

"Come on guys, we're supposed to be having fun, let's not start arguing," Quinn quickly changed the subject and Rachel rolled her eyes, she hated people who wouldn't commit to an argument. She shot yet another glare at Puck and quickly swan away from him and over to Quinn.

The four teens spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, and the argument between Rachel and Puck seemed to have taken a backseat as they began to relax in each other's company again. The boys thought it would be fun to play a few games as a way of passing the time, chicken being a popular choice amongst the teens, everyone except Rachel, having never played this game before. Quinn instantly hoisted herself up on Sam's shoulders and Puck assisted Rachel onto his, then after the count of three they were going head to head Puck felt as if he'd been given the raw deal considering Rachel's inexperience at the game. Turns out, Rachel and Puck were a killer combination, what with Puck's strength and Rachel's determination.

"That was so much fun!" Rachel grinned as they finally made their way out of the pool, Puck hoisted himself up and instinctively held out his hand to Rachel, she gratefully took it and allowing him to pull her out of the pool.

"And to think, you wanted to spend the afternoon rehearsing," Quinn grinned as she and Sam walked over to them, Quinn stared at the pair of them, Rachel's hand still clasped inside of Puck's.

"Okay, I admit it, you were right!" Rachel grinned, as Puck passed her towel to her, "However, this only means that we've got some serious work to do tomorrow." Quinn rolled her eyes as the four of them made their way out of the pool area and back into the lobby, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Neither Puck nor Rachel, had noticed that they were still holding hands, or they had but both were comfortable with the arrangement.

"Guys, we've been looking for you guys for ages!" The foursome turned around as they heard Artie's voice behind them.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kurt asked, his eyes instantly noticing the contact between Rachel and Puck who quickly pulled away from each other.

"We were in the pool," Rachel explained, trying to ignore the smirk that Blaine was throwing in her direction.

"What's going on Hummel?" Puck asked, a little irritated by his abrasive behaviour.

"You have to see this," Mercedes stated, clasping Quinn's hand and pulling her in the direction of the conference rooms, everyone tagged along with Rachel pushing herself to the front as Mercedes cracked the door open slightly and they were met with a wall of sound.

"They're amazing!" Rachel gasped, "Who are they?"

"This is the English team, we heard them rehearsing, they've been at it for three hours now," Kurt explained, as slowly everyone moved away from the door. Everyone looked just as stunned as each other, they'd arrived pretty confident, each of them thinking that they had a pretty good chance in the competition, they were the American National champions for crying out loud, but now after hearing another team rehearsing nearby, they realised that they couldn't simply wing their performances, they had to be on their game.

"They tore up the stage with their Leona Lewis number," Mercedes added.

"What?" Rachel shrieked, "What song are they singing?" a sense of hysteria in her voice.

"Relax Rachel," Kurt sighed in a bored tone, "They're singing 'Bleeding Love' your solo is safe,"

"We've got some serious work to do," Rachel stated, "Come on, we've got to find Mr Schuster!"


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I've been updating this really quickly, but I'm enjoying writing it so much that I can't help posting it so quickly. I love that this is having such a positive response to all of you, it means a lot, not only with the relationship between Puck and Rachel but the friendships that have already formed for example, Rachel/Blaine, and Sam, Quinn, Puck and Rachel. I love the different dynamics between them all. I am kind of hoping that we have a Raine friendship next season, and possibly a Faberry friendship, I think they could be really good friends, especially of they put the Finn incident behind them and realise that he isn't really worth the hassle.**

**Same as alway, please review and I hope you enjoy x**

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><p>Rachel woke up early the next morning, jumping out of bed well before her alarm was due to go off. She picked up her outfit for the day, carefully chosen the night before and headed to the bathroom. Whilst in the shower Rachel found herself in an unusual position instead of mentally preparing herself for rehearsals and running through her songs, she found herself reflecting on her sudden friendship with Noah. Even though they had briefly dated in sophomore year never had she felt so close and comfortable around him. It was a whole new experience for her. She quickly dried her hair and applied her make up before walking back into the bedroom expecting Quinn to be waiting for her turn in the shower, what she wasn't prepared for was to see her still lay in bed lazily flicking through the television stations.<p>

"Good morning Quinn," Rachel smiled, "The shower is free now."

"Thanks." Rachel rolled her eyes as Quinn made no attempt to move, so she stood firm in her place and tapped her feet impatiently. Quinn grinned and turned her gaze away from the television.

"Fine, I can take a hint." Rachel smiled happily as Quinn slowly emerged from the covers. "Are you happy now?" She asked sarcastically.

"Ecstatic Quinn." Rachel beamed happily, "Now while you're getting ready, I'll go and wake the boys." Quinn nodded and rummaged through her case for something to wear, slightly regretting ignoring Rachel's advice to prepare her outfit of choice the night before, but of course she was never going to admit that out loud.

Meanwhile, Rachel was now stood outside Sam and Puck's room, becoming annoyed by the lack of response on the other side of the door. However, she resisted the urge to shout them loudly as she didn't want to upset the other hotel residents. She sighed loudly and leant her hand against the door handle, raising an eyebrow as it clicked and the door opened slowly. Quickly, she glanced behind her and dashed into the room, making a mental note to reprimand them both about safety when they were fully awake. Once inside, Rachel quickly raised her hand to her nose, to block out the smell, it amazed her that after only 24 hours this room could be such a state. Rolling her eyes she crept towards Sam's bed and tapped him gently on the shoulder, he grunted quietly and rolled over to his side.

"Sam, wake up," she said gently, his eyes fluttering open he smiled before closing his eyes, snapping them open again, he jumped up and pulled the covers tighter around him.

"Rachel, what are you doing in here?" he asked, Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up.

"You should really lock your door, anyone could walk in," she smirked.

"Somebody already did," he mumbled, "Seriously, what are you doing in here?"

"I came by to see if you and Noah were awake, it would appear that I was right to do so," Sam rolled his eyes and propped himself up.

"Okay, point taken. I'll go and take and shower, you can try and get Puck up," Rachel nodded as Sam grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the dresser at the end of his bed and headed into the bathroom. Rachel sighed quietly and turned to face Puck's bed, she smiled at him for a minute before walking over to him, giving him the same treatment that she gave to Sam. However, what happened next was something that she was neither expecting nor prepared for; Puck stretched out his arm and wrapped it around her tightly, pulling her onto the bed. She wriggled slightly in his grasp and eventually let out a defeated sigh.

"Noah, you have to get up," she whispered, her head now against his chest.

"Shh, trying to sleep," he mumbled, rested his chin in her hair;

"Noah, this is totally inappropriate behaviour, what if Mr Schuster or Miss Pillsbury were to walk in here?" Rachel asked.

"You're voice is annoying," Puck mumbled, still not opening his eyes. Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes, giving up the battle and lying awkwardly in his arms. This is as close as she had been to him since that very brief time that they dated. She found it quite comforting if she was truly honest with herself, and since she and Finn had broken up, she hadn't actually been this close to anyone, well she'd hugged Blaine and allowed him to hold her close when she needed comforting, but that hardly counted.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sam shouted walking out of the bedroom, instantly Rachel and Puck jumped up, Puck releasing his arm from around her, and Rachel straightening out her clothes.

"I was just trying to wake Noah," Rachel mumbled, her cheeks flushing bright pink.

"Certainly looks that way Rachel, you didn't wake me up like that," Sam smirked, Puck rolled his eyes and reached out for a t-shirt and pulled it over his head, Rachel stood up and found it incredibly awkward to look at either of them in the eye.

"I should...I mean...I'll see you both at breakfast," she mumbled, making a quick escape and shutting the door behind her. She took a deep breath and started walking back towards her room.

Puck threw the covers off the bed and walked across the room, Sam smirking at him as he did so, Puck rolled his eyes and turned to face his friend.

"You and Rachel huh?" Sam asked.

"Whatever dude," Puck shrugged, slamming the bathroom door behind him, Sam nodded and lay back down on the bed, switching the television on as he did so. He still hadn't come to terms with the English television stations; they were totally different to the American stations. The boys had spent hours the night before searching for some sports to watch, but all they managed to find was soccer, and it was really the tough sport action that they were looking for. Now it was morning, the choice wasn't much better, he eventually decided on some breakfast show, not really paying attention to the show as such, mainly the woman who was presenting it.

"Hey, who's the babe?" Puck asked, walking out of the bathroom, Sam shrugged, keeping his eyes transfixed on the screen at all times. Puck nodded and sat back on his own bed, and joined his friend in watching the show.

Rachel and Quinn walked into the breakfast room, and caught up with their fellow gleeks, Quinn had woken up fully now and was much happier to be around now Rachel noted.

"Morning everyone," Rachel smiled, taking a seat next to Blaine, Quinn taking the spare seat next to Santana and Brittany.

"Hey girl, what took you so long?" Mercedes asked, Rachel blushed and shrugged as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. Quinn smirked as she watched her friend.

"She's been acting strange all morning," she added.

"I'm perfectly fine," Rachel stressed, "I'm simply thinking about our competition,"

"Yeah, sure," Quinn grinned, Rachel rolled her eyes and nibbled on her croissant.

Conversation soon turned to the English team and everything that Kurt and Mercedes had seen yesterday afternoon, Rachel trying to remain optimistic for her team, reminding them of all of the hard work they'd done just get here, but in her heart of hearts she knew that they had everything to prove again. The group continued to enjoy their breakfast when they were joined by their chaperones, Will smiled at everyone as Emma perched herself on the chair at the end of the table.

"Morning everyone." Will smiled sitting down and picking up a piece of toast from the table, "Did everyone sleep okay?"

He was met by a mixture of responses each of them expressing their views on the sleeping arrangements.

"That's great guys, so I gather you're all ready for a full day of rehearsals?"

"Definitely!" Rachel stated, "You didn't see them Mr Schuster, they were incredible."

Will nodded and glanced around the table and noticed a very obvious gap, he rolled his eyes and bit into his toast.

"Mr Schuster, I'd like to get started right away if that's okay with you?" Rachel asked getting ready to stand up, everyone groaned loudly the majority of them still suffering with tiredness. Will rolled his eyes and glanced over at Emma who was now sat nibbling at her grapes, she grinned up at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Just give it a few more minutes Rachel, there are a few of us who haven't finished our breakfast." Will explained to a mixture of confused expressions. Though it didn't take long for them to understand what he was getting at as almost everyone instantly reaching out for another piece of toast. Rachel frowned as she sat back down, sending a frustrated glare in her teacher's direction. "Guys, has anyone heard from Sam or Puck this morning?" Everyone shook their heads and Quinn smirked and turned to face Rachel.

"Rachel went to get them up this morning, she was there a long time," Emma almost choked on her grapes and Rachel's face turned red instantly. Kurt's eyes widened and Mercedes smirked at Quinn who was giggling at Rachel's embarrassment. Blaine stared at Rachel expectantly, wanting some sort of explanation from his best friend. Finn sat at the end of the table, his eyes transfixed on Rachel, he gripped tightly onto his fork, his knuckles turning white as he gripped harder.

"I was simply making sure that they were awake," Rachel stuttered, "I am team captain after all," Quinn nodded, still laughing at Rachel who shrunk further down in her seat.

"Of course you were," Blaine said quietly, Rachel heard him and nudged him hard in his side.

"Hey, if you injure me now, we'll be one short to perform, you of all people wouldn't want that," Blaine smirked, Rachel turned to face him, simply glaring at him.

"I see," Will said, clearing his throat, "I'm assuming they were still asleep, otherwise they'd be here, am I right?"

"Not exactly," she admitted quietly, "When I left Noah was about to take a shower, but I can assure you that they were aware that we were meeting for breakfast,"

"I see," Will sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I'll go and fetch them, the rest of you stay here with Miss Pillsbury," The teens nodded and Will dashed out of the breakfast room in search of the two boys. Conversation soon picked up again and Rachel found herself bombarded with questions from Kurt and Blaine.

"So, you were in the room a while huh?" Blaine smirked, Kurt grinned and stared at her, eager for her response.

"I've already told you, I was simply making sure that they were awake," Rachel stated.

"You never came to check if I was awake, aren't I special enough?" Blaine joked,

"At this moment, no, you're not," Rachel said, trying not to laugh at him, "Can we please change the subject, we have more important things to worry about," Blaine nodded and glanced across the table at Finn who was still glaring at Rachel.

"I think that's a good idea, if we continue to talk about this, then I'm sure Finn will do himself an injury," Kurt followed his boyfriend's eye and sighed when her saw his step-brother's gaze fixated on Rachel. Rachel smirked and nodded in agreement and the subject quickly changed to the upcoming competition and exactly how they were going to beat the English team. Sam and Puck eventually turned up, Rachel blushing when she saw Puck, it didn't really help that Blaine made a point of nudging her when he sat down at the table. Puck smirked when he saw her and picked up a piece of toast. Sam meanwhile managed to squeeze into the vacant seat next to Quinn. Will walked back into the room and sighed loudly, as he sat down next to Emma.

"Okay guys, as soon as you've finished your breakfast we'll start rehearsals, I've managed to secure one of the conference rooms for the day," Rachel beamed at him, and immediately jumped to her feet. The rest of the group following her lead, begrudgingly, because they all know no matter how much they wanted to enjoy their time in London, they had a lot of work to do to ensure that this trip would be a memorable one.

New Directions were feeling the pressure, not only were they suffering from a bad case of jetlag, they were also desperately trying to rehearse their own numbers and not pay any attention to the other clubs who were rehearsing the rooms surrounding theirs.

"Come on guys, I need to see the energy here!" Will shouted as he paused the music, yet again. "Come on, let's take it from the top," Everyone groaned loudly, Mercedes rolling her eyes as the girls left the stage. Blaine sighed quietly as he glanced at Kurt who was frowning at the back of the stage; he sent him a smile before taking his own position, centre stage. Puck had been one of the worst that morning, he and Sam were already on bad terms with Mr Schuster, who had now put in a strict rule in place stating that everyone needed to be up and ready at a certain time every morning. The music started up again and the boys started to sing, as the beat kicked in, Rachel led the girls onto the stage, she glanced in Puck's direction and smiled at him before focusing her attention onto Blaine who she was dancing with for this number. The song continued, and as everyone began to move quickly around the stage Puck and Rachel caught each other's eye's Rachel blushed furiously and quickly turned away from him, stepping on Blaine in the process.

"Can we stop please?" he shouted loudly, now hopping on one foot, Will rolled his eyes and turned the music off once more. Everyone crowded around Blaine as he sat down on the stage.

"I'm so sorry!" Rachel said, crouching down next to him, "I don't know what's gotten into me," Kurt pushed his way through the group and sat down on the floor next to his boyfriend.

"I have a pretty good idea," Blaine smirked, flicking his attention to Puck briefly, Kurt grinned and Rachel shook her head.

"Puck, Rachel, what is wrong with you two today?" Will asked, singling out the two teens.

"It's just jetlag Mr Schue," Puck shrugged

"I'm really sorry Mr Schuster," Rachel said quickly, "I'm really trying," Will nodded and smiled at the clearly exhausted teens. They'd been working for a few hours, and he understood what it felt like to be this jetlagged. He raised his hand to his head and sighed.

"We'll leave it there for today," he said, "It'll give you all a few more hours to adjust, but tomorrow, there cannot be any excuses," The teens nodded and quickly gathered their belongings.

"Sam, Mike, do you think you could help Blaine to his room?" Will asked, "We can't risk him injuring himself anymore," They both nodded and helped Blaine to get to his feet, Kurt picking up his boyfriends belongings and following them out of the room, Rachel let out a frustrated sigh as she gathered her own things and scurried out of the room, hoping to catch up with her friends. Ignoring the glances that were coming her way from Quinn and Puck.

"You going to be okay now dude?" Sam asked as helped Blaine to sit down on his bed.

"I'll be fine," Blaine laughed, "You guys go and have fun," he grinned as he noticed Tina stood in the doorway, waiting for her boyfriend. Mike grinned and quickly left the room; Sam shrugged and headed towards his own room.

"Okay, we really need to talk," Blaine smirked turning to face Rachel, who was stood awkwardly in the corner, "Kurt, do you mind going to Mercedes' room for a while?" he asked, Kurt frowned and Mercedes grinned.

"Sure thing Blaine," she linked arms with Kurt, and he reluctantly followed her out of the room, closing the door behind. Rachel stood in silence for a few seconds, just staring at Blaine in shock.

"Okay Rachel, you're going to sit down and tell me what is going in your head," he grinned, Rachel sighed and perched herself on the edge of his bed.

"I don't know what you mean," she mumbled.

"Oh come on Rachel, I know you, remember?" Blaine laughed, "Unless you deliberately set out to hurt me,"

"I would never…" she started, before smiling at a laughing Blaine, "I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. I know I should be concentrating on the competition, but I keep getting distracted."

"So the Mohawk strikes again," Blaine smirked.

"What?"

"Oh come on Rachel, I've seen the way you've looked at him over the last few weeks, something's going on in that head of yours," Rachel sighed as she lay down on the bed next to Blaine.

"It's complicated," she sighed,

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Blaine smirked, causing Rachel to push him playfully.

"I'm seriously getting mixed messages here Rachel, anyone would think that you're set on injuring me before the competition," Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled at him, "So come on, what's going on between you and Puck?"

"That's the thing, there's nothing going on," she moaned.

"But you want there to be?" he asked. She didn't answer; she just closed her eyes, trying to ignore him. "Rachel?"

"Can we change the subject please?" she asked.

"I knew it!" Blaine laughed,

"Blaine, please," Rachel begged, her cheeks flushing a shade of pink, "I really don't want to talk about this,"


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I missed an update yesterday, I've been issues with this chapter, it's still not perfect, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it. It gets better though, I promise. I'm really pleased though that you're enjoying the Faberry and Anderberry friendships, I know I'm enjoying writing them. There's also more of that to come as well. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter x**

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><p>Later that day after everyone had met up for dinner, Will dismissed the teens for the evening informing them that they had a strict 10pm curfew prior to their 9am prompt rehearsal time. Blaine was walking better now, much to the relief of Rachel who had been feeling incredibly guilty. As the teens began to split, Blaine smiled at Rachel as they began walking out of the restaurant.<p>

"Hey, Kurt, Mercedes and I are heading out tonight, you want to join us?" he asked, Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to have an early night. I need to sort my head out," Blaine nodded and gave her an understanding look,

"Okay, but you know where I am when you're ready to talk," Rachel smiled and nodded as she gave him a hug and watched as he walked off with Kurt and Mercedes. Rachel smiled and headed in the direction of her room. She opened her door and smiled as she noticed Quinn sorting through her clothes.

"Hey Q," she smiled collapsing, face down, on her bed.

"Hey Rach, what do you think?" Quinn asked holding up a baby pink dress, Rachel turned her head and smiled as she gave her a nod of approval.

"Great, that's what I thought," Quinn smiled, as she placed the dress on her bed and closed the rest of the drawers that she'd been sorting through.

Quinn sat back on her bed and smiled at Rachel who was still lying face down, she smirked as Rachel let out a quiet sigh.

"So, you've been pretty out of it today," she commented, Rachel turned to face Quinn again, sitting up slightly.

"I guess I'm just tired," Rachel replied,

"Yeah right," Quinn scoffed, Rachel frowned as she stared at her friend, "I've seen the way you two look at each other you know, I'm not blind."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rachel mumbled, burying her head into her pillow, Quinn rolled her eyes and stood up again, walking over to the dresser that the girls shared and opening her make up bag. Rachel listened for a while as her friend searched through her make up before rolling over and staring at her friend.

"Is there a reason why you're getting dressed up?" Rachel grinned. Quinn blushed and turned to face her.

"You can't tell anyone," Quinn smiled, Rachel nodded eagerly, desperate to hear what her friend had to say, "Sam asked me out tonight, we're keeping it quiet though, we don't want the rest of the club to know just yet, we want to see how things are between us," Rachel nodded and smiled at her friend. The whole Finn thing aside, Rachel had never really understood why Quinn and Sam had broken up in the first place; she thought they were great together. But then, she knew better than anyone that Finn could bring out worst in people. Looking back now, the two girls still struggle to understand what it was they were fighting over.

"That's great news Quinn," Rachel smiled leaning over to hug her friend.

"It's early days though, so please, don't tell anyone," Rachel nodded and smiled as her friend hurried into the bathroom to get ready.

When she emerged half an hour later, she let Rachel give her a final inspection before she picked up her purse and headed to the door, she paused momentarily and turned to face Rachel.

"Are you sure you don't mind, I feel bad leaving you by yourself," Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"I'll be fine Quinn, beside Blaine already asked me to join Mercedes, Kurt and him this evening, but I declined the invitation." She explained, Quinn nodded before saying goodbye to her friend and leaving the room. Rachel smiled contently as she glanced at the now quiet room, maybe she would be able to clear her head after all. She loved the friendship that she had with Blaine, she'd never had a friend that she was so close to before, but the downside to this relationship was that Blaine always knew what she was thinking. These days she struggled to keep anything from him, especially since 'Finn incident' incidentally that had bought them even closer together as Rachel found herself confiding in him more often.

As time passed Rachel found that her evening of relaxation that she had originally planned wasn't going the way that she had planned. She lay on her bed for a while for she was far to tense to lie down, so she did what she usually did in these situations, she picked up her earphones and began listening to her songs for the competition. She started singing along with the music quietly but as she got more and more into the song, she forgot about her own dilema and started belting out 'Happy' as loud as she could. It was only when the song came to an end that she heard a knocking on her door. She smiled thinking that there were only two people that it could be, either Quinn had forgotten her key and needed something from the room, or Blaine was once again going to try and convince her to join them for the evening. She placed her iPod on her bed and headed towards the door.

"Noah, what are you doing here?" She squeaked when she saw him standing in front of her. He shrugged and leant again the door frame.

"Quinn and Sam are in my room," he muttered as a form of an explanation,

"Oh," Rachel nodded, still staring up at Puck,

"So can I hang out here?" he asked

"Yeah, sure," Rachel nodded, pushing her door open and allowing him to walk past her, she closed her eyes briefly as she took a deep breath, before closing the door and walking back into her room.

"I was just rehearsing," she mumbled as she picked up her iPod and placed it on the dresser, he nodded and smirked at her as he sat down on the chair next to the window. There was an awkward silence for a while between the pair, neither of them had spoken since that morning, and Rachel was beginning to wonder whether he was just trying to forget about it. But then he'd made the effort to come to her room, Rachel sighed quietly, boys were confusing.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Rachel asked quietly, Puck turned to face her and smiled at her.

"Yeah, I guess," Rachel smiled and pulled out her laptop from her bag, and set it up on her bed, smiling as Puck moved to join her.

The two teens sat and watched the movie quietly; Rachel took this opportunity to steal a few glances at Puck, who also seemed to be pretty distracted. He sighed quietly and Rachel knew that something was definitely going on with him.

"Noah are you okay?" she asked quietly, he shrugged and kept his eyes on the screen, Rachel rolled her eyes and pushed the laptop to one side, Puck gave in and finally removed his faze from the tiny screen.

"Do you know that Beth would be two now?" he asked, Rachel nodded, she also had her own reasons for remembering Beth's birthday, that was the day that her birth mother decided to replace her once and for all.

"I made a promise that day that I was going to change, I was going to make her proud of me," he scoffed and shook his head, "It's been two years and what have I got to show for it?" he asked her. Rachel was stunned for a minute, she wasn't really used to seeing this side of him. It's not that she didn't like it, it's that she didn't quite know how to handle it.

"That's not true Noah," she said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder gently, he lifted his head and gave her a small smile.

"We've just graduated High School Rachel, and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life," Rachel sighed quietly, not really sure what to say to him. She'd been so wrapped up in her relationship with Finn throughout the school year, that she'd failed to notice that some of her other friends were struggling with the idea of leaving High School and ultimately becoming adults.

"I've always admired you Rachel," Puck smiled, Rachel smiled at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You've always been so certain of what you're going to do in your life, you were determined to get to New York, and look at you now, when we finish up here you'll be packing up to start a new life out there, with Blaine and Kurt, whilst I'll be still living at home with my mom and sister, trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with my life,"

Rachel smiled at the compliment once more; she squeezed his shoulder gently, blushing when he turned to face her.

"There's still time Noah," she told him, "I mean you graduated with pretty good grades, and it's not too late to apply to some colleges, you could study music?" she suggested.

"Yeah, music," he nodded, "You know something Rachel, I don't think I've ever told you this, but you're pretty cool, you always know what to say,"

"Well people do say I talk too much," she smiled causing Puck to laugh, as he pulled the laptop back in front of them, the pair eased into the movie once more and Rachel could tell that Puck had obviously relaxed a little after their talk.

The film ended some time later and Rachel smiled as she closed her laptop and placed it on the dresser. The two sat talking for a while, Puck listening whilst Rachel discussed her plans for New York enthusiastically, and how she was looking forward to living with Kurt and Blaine, even though she was sure that she and Kurt were going to clash on more than one occasion.

"You're really ready for New York," he commented, Rachel nodded and smiled.

"I think the bigger question is, whether New York is ready for me," she smirked, before continuing to outline her plan to take Broadway by storm and win her first Tony award by the time she was 25.

"I'm really proud of you Rachel," he said quietly once she had finished.

"I'm proud of you to Noah," she said smiling, "You've come so far since sophomore year," she said fondly, "If someone would've told me then that we'd both be sitting here actually enjoying a conversation, then I would've laughed at them,"

Puck nodded and smiled at her. Sophomore year had changed him dramatically; Quinn's words had cut him deep when she called him a 'Lima Loser' and he was determined that he wasn't going to end up that way. He wanted to be good dad to Beth, he wanted to be a better person. Glee Club had helped with that, they helped him realise who he wanted to be, who he could be. They were his friends, they were more than that they'd become his family. He thought back to freshman year and how he'd spent the year torturing Kurt and Rachel for being different, but everything had changed now.

"I'm sure Beth would be proud of you as well," she said quietly, pulling Puck out of his thoughts. He nodded and smiled at her.

"Finn was a tool for ever cheating on you," he said quietly,

"I know," Rachel smiled, "But I'm better off without him."

"Good," Rachel stared at him, "Because now I can do this," he whispered, before placing his hand on her cheek and pulling her closer to him, Rachel closed her eyes as she felt his breath against his skin. Rachel felt his lips gently brush against hers, and found herself easing into the kiss, it wasn't full of passion as their kisses had been in the past, it was tender and romantic. Rachel pulled Puck closer to her, placing her arms around his neck, when he pulled away, leaving a stunned expression on her face.

"I-I'm sorry, I've got to go," he said quickly, moving off the bed and leaving the room. Rachel sat back on her bed, visibly confused. She let out a frustrated sigh and buried her head into her pillow. She barely noticed when Quinn came back into the room.

"Hey Rachel, are you okay?" Quinn asked, as she flicked the light switch, Rachel gave her a mumbled response, not bothering to lift her head.

"I've just seen Puck, you want to talk about it?" Quinn continued, Rachel shook her head and gave her another mumbled response.

"Well, when you're ready," Quinn sighed as she walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Rachel barely when Quinn turned the light off and got into her own bed, instead she just stared at the wall trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. She'd never felt that close to Noah before, he always had some barriers up that no one was able to break through, for the first time she'd finally been able to see through them. Maybe this was just a sign, a sign that she shouldn't allow herself to be so distracted this close to a competition, and besides, her life would be changing dramatically in the next couple of months. Maybe this was fate's way of telling her that she didn't all of this added stress in her life?


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. I know that it ended on a pretty low note, Puck leaving Rachel like that wasn't exactly ideal, but I promise that it isn't the end to their story. Puckleberry will live on ;) As always please review, they make me smile and makes writing this even more fun.**

**Hope you enjoy x**

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><p>There was an extremely awkward atmosphere the next day at rehearsals, Rachel still hadn't spoken to Quinn about last night, Puck and Rachel were avoiding each other, and Blaine simply wanted answers from his best friend.<p>

"Okay guys, we're going to run through Puck and Rachel's duet," Will announced as the teens slumped into their seats. Rachel rolled her eyes and made her way towards the stage, Quinn smiled at her, and Blaine gave her a supportive smile. Rachel glanced at Puck, but he was still refusing to look her. She rolled her eyes and got into position as the music started, New Directions watched the performance began to take place, each of them cringing. Kurt actually turned away from them and glanced at Blaine.

"You know something, don't you?" he whispered, Blaine shrugged and cringed as Rachel and Puck glared at each other.

"I know nothing," he told him; Kurt rolled his eyes and rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine continued to watch, unsure of what was going on. Yesterday, he was positive that Rachel had feelings for Puck, yet as he watched them both perform on stage, they both looked like they'd both rather be anywhere but here.

"Okay guys, just stop!" Will shouted as he cut off the music, Rachel and Puck both moved as far away as possible and Will frowned at the two of them

"Now, I don't know what's going on between you two, but we're competing tomorrow, and you need to get it together. This is supposed to be a romantic duet, at the moment you both look like you're set to kill each other," Rachel sighed and focused her eyes onto the ground.

"The rest of you, take a break, we'll meet up again in an hour," New Directions made their way out of the conference room, leaving Puck and Rachel alone. Will gave the two teens one final glance before guiding Emma out of the room. When the door had finally closed, Rachel walked away from Puck and sat down in one of the now vacant chairs. Puck watched her for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and walking over to her.

"Hey, about last night," he said quietly taking the seat in front of her,

"What about it?" Rachel asked, lifting her heard slightly, Puck sighed and turned to face her properly.

"I just wanted to say…well…you know, I'm sorry. It was a mistake." Rachel stared at him, trying to read him, but he wasn't giving anything away. She sighed quietly and picked her bag up.

"It's fine Noah," she told him as she stood up and made her way towards the door.

"So we're cool Berry?" he called after her, she paused as she reached the door, and she took a deep breath and ignored the lump in her throat as she nodded.

"Yeah, we're cool. I think we should just focus on the competition anyway, we don't need any distractions," She didn't stay to hear to his response, she gulped and quickly made her way to her room.

Rachel was practically runnig through the hallway when she left the elevator, she'd already started crying, and was desperately trying to ignore the concerned looks on people's faces as she passed them. She barely noticed that she'd passed Kurt and Blaine in her haste as she fumbled in her bag for her room key. Blaine glanced at Kurt before the two of them ran after her, Kurt taking the key out of Rachel's hand and unlocking the door as Blaine pulled her into a hug and ushered her into the room.

"Rachel, what's up with you?" Kurt asked as she sat down on the edge of her bed, she didn't know what to say, she felt ridiculous for getting so upset over something that barely happened, but she'd honestly began to think that things were finally changing between Noah and her, but now all of the progress had gone to waste. Blaine sighed quietly as he watched his best friend sob quietly.

"Kurt, could you give us some time to talk please?" Blaine asked, Kurt sighed and glanced at his boyfriend.

"It's a good job I'm not the jealous type," Kurt laughed,

"I could say the same about all of the mysterious shopping trips you and Mercedes take together," Blaine laughed before pulling Kurt closer to him and gently placing his lips on his. Kurt smiled as he pulled away, his cheeks reddening slightly.

"I'll call you when we're finished," Blaine said as Kurt gave Rachel a quick hug and made his way towards the door. Blaine waved at Kurt and watched as he shut the door before picking up a box of tissues on the dresser and handing them to Rachel. She smiled gratefully and began to carefully wipe her eyes, Blaine smiled and sat down next to her, pulling her into a hug.

"So, you want to tell me what's really going on?" he asked finally.

"You already know," she sniffed quietly; Blaine smiled and stroked her hair gently.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Rachel nodded and sat up, turning her body so she was facing him properly. She took a deep breath and Blaine waited patiently as Rachel prepared to tell her story.

"I thought that things were finally changing between us, I thought that he might actually like me this time," Rachel said quietly, "After everything that happened with Finn, I just thought…I thought I was finally getting over him."

Blaine frowned and stared at Rachel.

"You are not going there again," he told her adamently, Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"It's not Finn, it's Noah," Blaine nodded and gave her a knowing look.

"I knew that there was something going on between you two," he grinned, "Kurt thought I was just imagining things, but I was sure of it," Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled at him, she knew that no matter how upset she ever got, Blaine could always find a way to cheer her up.

"I can't believe that you and Kurt have discussing me," she smiled and Blaine pulled her into a playful hug, kissing the top of her head.

"So, now I need details," he grinned.

Meanwhile, Puck walked into his room, slamming the door shut behind him, barely noticing Quinn and Sam sat on Sam's bed, with his arm wrapped tightly around her. They were talking quietly, only stopping when Puck slumped onto his own bed. Quinn sat up and shook her head, she removed herself from Sam's arm and walked over to Puck. Puck stared at her and Quinn sighed quietly, before hitting the back of his head.

"What the hell was that for?" Puck shouted, Quinn rolled her eyes and leant against the dresser next to Puck's bed.

"You're an idiot," she told him, "What did you do this time?" Puck grunted loudly and turned his back on her. Quinn glanced at Sam who shook his head; this was one argument that he didn't to be a part of. Puck glared at Sam, who decided that now was the perfect time to leave

"I'll catch you two later, I'll go and see what the others are doing," he kissed Quinn on the cheek and left pretty quickly.

"I know something happened between the two of you last night," Quinn stated, "So what did you do mess it up this time?"

"What makes you think it was me?" Puck asked, turning back around. Quinn raised an eyebrow and Puck nodded.

"Okay, I get your point." He mumbled.

"So, go on then, what happened?" Quinn smirked.

"I kissed her last night,"

"Wow, you must have lost your technique, she's been moping all morning," Quinn laughed and Puck frowned at her. "Sorry, so if you kissed her, then why are both moping around like a couple of lost puppies?"

"I told her it was a mistake," Quinn shook her head and hit him again.

"Will you stop hitting me woman!" Puck shouted.

"You complete idiot!" Quinn snapped,

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Puck asked, back away from her.

"We've all seen the way you look at her," she grinned, "When she finally broke up Finn, we all thought you were going to make your move, but for some reason you were too stupid to do anything," Puck frowned as he stared at the blonde,

"You've all been discussing this?" Puck asked, incredulously. Quinn smirked at him.

"Oh please, we all know that you're into her. I think you two are the only people who don't know anything, even Finn knows and it's annoying the hell out of him."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Puck told her quietly, "She's off to New York at the end of the summer, I'm going to be stuck her probably still being the _Lima Loser_, I've always been." Quinn relented slightly and perched on the edge of his bed.

"You're not a _Lima Loser_, and I'm sorry that I ever called you that." She said quietly, "But you need to do something about Rachel." Puck shook his head.

"She doesn't want any distractions," he told her earnestly, "She just wants to focus on Internationals, before she can leave for New York with Blaine and Kurt," Quinn rolled her eyes.

"And you really believe that?" Puck shrugged. "Puck, she's probably having the same conversation right now with Blaine,"

"I messed up Q," he groaned as he lay back on his bed.

"He kissed me last night," Rachel sighed as she paced across her bedroom, Blaine sat back relaxing on her bed, "_He kissed me Blaine!"_

"So why are you upset, I thought you liked him?" Blaine asked cautiously.

"I do!" she hissed, before glancing at Blaine and smiling at him, "Sorry,"

"Was he really that bad of a kisser?" Blaine smirked and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Do you really need to ask that?" she asked, Blaine laughed and Rachel collapsed on her bed, lying across Blaine.

"Boys are so confusing," she whined, Blaine laughed and patted her back.

"It's what we do best," Rachel laughed and Blaine was pleased that she was finally returning to her old self. He hadn't seen her this upset since she broke things off with Finn.

"I haven't been this confused about a guy since you and I tried dating," she turned to face him.

"You promised you'd never speak of that," he laughed, and Rachel shook her head, the pair sat quietly for a while, Rachel deep in thought and Blaine just sat comfortably underneath her.

"You need to talk to him Rachel," he said finally,

"What's the point Blaine?" she sighed,

"He's probably having this same conversation with Sam," Blaine added.

"I doubt it, he's already told me it's a mistake."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that," Blaine added, trying to make it sound better than it was.

"You know what, I just want to get this competition over with and concentrate on New York,"

Blaine sighed and shook his head as Rachel tried to change the subject, he loved Rachel; she'd become so much more than a friend to him over the last year, she was more like a sister. He'd always go to her if he and Kurt had fought and he didn't know what to do anymore, but he just wished that she wasn't so stubborn all of the time.

New Directions met back up an hour later, Puck and Rachel still not talking. Will sighed but decided to focus on the group numbers instead. Rachel was pretty pleased about this, knowing that she wouldn't have to think about Puck whilst performing, she partnered Blaine for two of the group numbers, then the only other number left was the girl's number. As everyone got into position to do a final run through of 'I've Got a Feeling,' Blaine pulled Rachel to one side.

"Talk to him Rachel, talk to him now." he said, and Rachel shook her head defiantly.

"No, now can we please get on with rehearsals?" she asked, Blaine shrugged and walked to centre stage as Rachel followed the rest of the girls, ready to make their entrance later on. Rehearsals managed to run without a hitch, Will congratulating them on their hard work and assuring them that he was really proud no matter what the outcome was at the end of the competition. He finished up by telling them to enjoy the competition no matter what and make the most of the time that they had left together as group. As everyone headed towards the restaurant, Quinn caught sight of Blaine and hurried to catch up with him, pulling him away from the group.

"I know that you know," she said, Blaine stared at her for a minute as she stood grinning at him,

"You know that I know what?" he asked; now smirking at her.

"That Puck kissed Rachel last night." Blaine grinned and nodded.

"Oh yeah, I know all about that," Quinn smirked and glanced across the room where the rest of New Directions had pulled a few tables together and Puck and Rachel were trying as hard as they could not to sit anywhere near each other. Blaine rolled his eyes and moved in front of Quinn, turning his back on everyone else.

"It seems that Puckleberry 2.0 has hit an obstacle," Blaine remarked,

"Puck told me that Rachel doesn't want any distractions, that she's only thinking about getting to New York with you and Kurt."

"Well Rachel told me that Puck told her that the kiss was a mistake," Quinn rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"They're both just too stubborn to realise what's been under their noses this whole time," she commented, "They're so stupid!"

"So, what's the plan?" Blaine asked, bringing Quinn's attention back to him.

"What makes you think there's a plan?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Quinn, it's you. There's always a plan," Blaine smirked and Quinn smiled at him, lowering her head so the two could conspire together.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm loving Blaine and Quinn in this story, I especially loved the idea of it being Quinn to be the one to set Puck straight. I did consider having Sam to be the person, but I can't see Puck opening up to another guy somehow, I figured with all of their history, Quinn would be the perfect candidate for him to confide in. I love the idea of Blaine and Quinn being friends with Rachel anyway, but I also like the idea of them being friends as well. So now we have Blaine and Quinn on the case to save Puckleberry :D Go Team Bluinn (I'm not sure if there is a couple name for those two, so I figured I'd make my own up)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for all of the reviews from the last chapter, it seems that you're all enjoying the Raine friendships and Quick friendships, but also the Fabranderson friendship as well. Something I'm pretty keen on to. I love writing for the two of them in this story, and let's face it, Quinn really needs some friends, she should totally be friends with Blaine and Rachel next season, that would be pretty cool.**

**Aslo, I know that I was updating practically everyday, but I work on weekends and this chapter was really difficult to write for some reason. I've been adding pieces here and there for a few days, and even then it didn't seem to flow very well. But I'm pretty pleased with it now though, hopefully I've conveyed the Puckleberry relationship in the right way, and there's also Fabranderson interludes that help to break this chapter up as well.**

**As always, I hope you enjoy, and please review :) x**

* * *

><p>Rachel had decided to have an early night that night, she knew that she had to smash her solo performance tomorrow if they had any chance of moving past the qualification rounds, she knew that the group performance would go pretty well, she and Blaine worked incredibly well together. She'd tried to convince Quinn to do the same, but Quinn had apparently made plans with Sam, and she had no intention of changing them. So Rachel had resorted to spending the evening alone, hoping that the rest of New Directions had the same initiative that she had. She was just beginning to relax when her phone beeped on her dresser; she rolled her eyes and leant across to read her message.<p>

'_911! Throat starting to hurt, bring remedies!'_

Rachel's eyes widened in horror as she read Blaine's message, he couldn't get ill now, there was no way that she was going to allow this to happen. If he couldn't sing lead then she'd be forced to sing with Finn, and that would open a new can of worms that she just didn't want to deal with right now. So she quickly scrambled around her room, picking up all of the vitamin packets and throat soothers that she had on hand, before dashing out of her room and heading across to Blaine and Mike's room.

* * *

><p>"Rachel's going to kill me," Blaine groaned as he hit send.<p>

"Oh chill out!" Quinn laughed, "She'll be thanking you, when they actually realise how stupid they've been and finally get together!" Blaine nodded in agreement before handing Quinn Sam's phone, which he'd managed to 'borrow' as he leant across the dinner table, earlier that evening.

"Okay, you're next," he told her. Quinn nodded and started typing another message. Blaine glanced over Quinn's shoulder as he read the text.

"Classy Quinn," Blaine smirked

"It's Puck." Quinn countered and Blaine nodded.

"You're right, send it," Blaine shrugged.

* * *

><p>Puck let out an annoyed grunt as he continued to flick through the television channels, he hated English television, it didn't compare at all to what he was used to at home. He threw the controller across the room and let out another frustrated grunt. This trip was turning into a complete disaster, he'd had his doubts about it when Mr Schue had first told them about it, but then he figured a free trip before everyone left for college would be a good thing. Rehearsals were getting to him as well, things had been as awkward as hell between him and Rachel since he'd apologised for kissing her, he knew that Rachel had been avoiding him after that. Quinn had been laying on the pressure thick for him to talk to Rachel again, but Puck didn't see the point, at the end of the Summer Rachel was leaving and she was pretty adamant that she wasn't coming back. He just couldn't deal with that kind of crap right now. He was also pretty annoyed that he had to sit in his room alone, as the other guys had plans of their own. Stupid couples! He was pulled from his thoughts when he phone flashed on his dresser. He rolled his eyes and reached over to read the message.<p>

'_Dude, babe spotting in Mikes room, come check it out!' _

Puck let out an irritated grunt as he read Sam's message, Sam had told him that he was going out with Quinn tonight, and he was pretty sure that Mike was supposed to be with Tina. Puck shoved his phone into his pocket and picked up his room key before heading down to Mike and Blaine's room. If Sam had stood Quinn up, then Quinn would be turning up at his door any minute now, and Puck couldn't do with any more heart to hearts.

* * *

><p>"Puck's not going to be happy about this," Quinn mumbled as the pair sat and waited patiently in Blaine's room.<p>

"This was your idea," Blaine told her, "If this back fires, then it's all your fault Fabray," he laughed. Quinn shook her head and checked her watch.

"Any second now," she whispered, and as if by magic Blaine's door flew open and Rachel rushed inside holding up a bag of medical supplies, she paused when she saw Quinn and stared at her incredulously.

"Quinn, what are you doing here?" she asked her friend, Quinn glanced quickly at Blaine and shrugged.

"I came looking for Sam," she said quickly, "He said something about having to talk to Mike, but I guess he isn't here," Blaine nodded, seemingly impressed by how easily Quinn could lie. Rachel nodded slowly as she walked across the room and handed Blaine the bag with her medical supplies inside.

"These should help," she told him earnestly, Blaine smiled and opened his mouth to speak but Rachel hushed him.

"If your throat is sore, then you need to rest it, you can't speak until at least tomorrow morning," she told him firmly. Blaine nodded and glanced across at Quinn who was smirking at him. Quinn shrugged and walked across the room as she heard footsteps approaching them, she nodded Puck was on schedule tonight.

"Dude, show me the babes!" Puck said loudly as he walked through the doorway, stopping short when he saw Blaine, Quinn and Rachel staring at him.

"Classy as always Noah," Rachel smirked; Puck rolled his eyes and turned his back on her, focusing his attention on Quinn.

"Okay, so where's your boyfriend?" he asked, Quinn shrugged and glanced at Blaine, who quickly got to his and walked towards the door, Quinn following behind him.

"Sam's not coming," Blaine stated, Rachel frowned at him and Blaine shook his head, "And I'm not sick."

"I can't believe you lied to me!" Rachel gasped, seemingly hurt by her friend's betrayal. Blaine hung his head in shame.

"But you two need to talk to each other," Quinn started trying to calm Rachel down,

"I don't have time for this," Rachel said defiantly, as she headed towards the door, but Blaine held his hands up and shook his head.

"Rachel, you're both being to stubborn to realise what has been under your nose this whole time, so we're going to leave you here until you're at least able to look at each other," Blaine said quickly, before shutting the door behind him and Quinn, leaving a frustrated Rachel and Puck behind them.

* * *

><p>"We're bad people," Blaine groaned as he leant against the door, Quinn shook her head as she forced a chair underneath the door handle. Blaine raised an eyebrow and Quinn rolled her eyes.<p>

"It's just a precaution," she told him,

"Uh huh," Blaine nodded, grinning at Quinn as the two of them sat down outside his bedroom door. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait,"

* * *

><p>"Our friends suck!" Puck groaned as he paced across Blaine's room. Rachel nodded in agreement.<p>

"Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree with you." Rachel sighed sitting down next to the window. She stared outside, watching the people of London walking below, whilst she was locked in her best friends bedroom. Damn her caring nature. She let out a frustrated sigh and angrily pulled her phone from her purse and began furiously typing away.

'_You're going to wish that you were sick once I'm finished with you!'_

She smiled as she read the message one more time with a satisfied grin before sending it to Blaine. She sighed as she put her phone back into her purse and glanced briefly at puck who was pacing back and fourth, obviously just as frustrated as she was. Puck paused and turned to face her, and Rachel frowned, defiantly crossing her arms across her chest and looking out of the window again.

* * *

><p>"It's too quiet," Blaine commented as he and Quinn stood with their ears firmly pressed against the door.<p>

"At least they aren't killing each other," Quinn quipped.

"Yet," Blaine mumbled, Quinn waved at him to be quiet when she heard muffled voices coming from the other side of the door.

* * *

><p>"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Puck finally asked, breaking the silence that had been held in the room. Rachel turned to face him, her eyes burning into him.<p>

"Well, apparently they want us to talk, I can't think why," she stated coolly, Puck sighed and shoved his hands awkwardly into his jean pockets before shuffling over to her.

"What's up with you today, Berry?" he asked her quietly, Rachel looked up at him and softened her gaze, and shook her head.

"I'm fine Noah," she told him; Puck shook his head, not convinced in the slightest.

"You know for an actress, you suck at lying," he smirked, Rachel tried not to smile at him, she was still furious with him for blowing her off in the way he had, but Puck had an air about him that made him so charming that made it nearly impossible to resist.

"You're mad at me for kissing you, I get that," he told her earnestly. Rachel shook her head in disbelief and walked across the room, trying to get away from him.

"Is that what you really think?" Rachel asked him, half shrieking at him.

"Well yeah," Puck shrugged, and Rachel scoffed loudly at him.

"What the hell am I meant to think Rachel?" he shouted, becoming infuriated by her stubborn behaviour, "We hung out together, and I kissed you, it was a mistake and I apologised for that, you were the one who said we were cool!"

"That's the problem Noah, I want us to be more than just _cool!_" Rachel shouted, unable to control herself anymore, Puck's expression changed from annoyance to pure confusion, as he stared at Rachel.

"What did you just say?" he asked her quietly. Rachel realised what she'd said and a feeling of nausea took over her body. She quickly turned her him and sat down on Blaine's bed, wishing that she could go back in time and erase the last minute from history. Puck let out another frustrated sigh as Rachel refused to answer him, and moved across the room, sitting down in front her.

"Babe, you need to help me out here, you know I'm no good at this kind of thing," he told her and Rachel smiled faintly at him.

"I shouldn't have said anything, we're competing tomorrow and this added stress isn't going to help," she said quickly.

"It's us, we perform better when we're stressed, where have you been for the last three years?" Rachel smiled again and allowed her eyes to meet Puck's for the first time that evening.

"I don't want you to apologise for kissing me Noah," she whispered quietly, "If I learnt one thing from being with Finn, is was that I don't ever want to be second best to anyone again."

"Babe, I told you it was mistake because I didn't want to be the jerk that messed you up before you went to New York." Rachel stared at him in confusion as Puck opened up to her.

"You shouldn't have to choose, we all saw what you were like with Finn, you were actually contemplating staying in Lima to be with him, cheating on you was the best thing he ever did for you," Puck finished and Rachel frowned at him.

"I don't know what you mean Noah," she sighed.

"Rachel, you're destined for New York, and you shouldn't have to choose between your future and anything else. I kissed you because it felt right and because I want to be with you."

"But you told me that it was a mistake," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"I told you it was mistake because I didn't want to be the one who you'd consider changing for, Finn was constantly trying to change who you were, I'd never do that to you." He smiled at her and Rachel's heart melted, she moved closer to him, and pressing her lips onto his, it was his turn to be stunned by the kiss, but it didn't take him long to respond, knowing that this time there wouldn't be any repercussions caused by their kiss, he'd laid himself bare for her, and by the way that this kiss was going she understood perfectly and was okay with it.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later Quinn and Blaine were still stood outside of Blaine's room, ears still firmly pressed against the door, Puck and Rachel had finished shouting at each other a while back, and they'd strained their ears to hear them talking in hushed tones, but that had long stopped and Blaine was getting anxious from just waiting around.<p>

"Do you think they're okay in there?" he asked Quinn.

"Maybe Rachel really has killed him," she smirked; Blaine laughed with Quinn, not totally dismissing the suggestion either. The pair waited a further ten minutes, before Blaine had decided that they'd had enough time to talk and moved the chair from under the door handle. He swiped his room key and Quinn stood behind him as he pushed the door open and walked inside. He let out a disgusted moan when he saw Rachel and Puck making out on his bed.

"Do you have to do that on my bed?" Blaine asked loudly, Rachel pulled away from Puck and blushed slightly when she saw Blaine and Quinn staring at the two of them. Puck on the other hand smirked and stared at Blaine.

"That's what you get for locking us in here, alone," he smirked; Blaine rolled his eyes as Puck leant across to kiss Rachel again.

"Okay, seriously guys, I have to sleep in that bed," Blaine moaned, "I'm happy that you're together and everything, but you have to find another place to make out,"

"But your bed is so comfy," Puck smirked, causing Rachel to giggle.

"Fine, I'm sure Kurt won't mind making out with me in your room on _your_ bed." Blaine smirked, pulling his phone from his pocket. Puck detached himself from Rachel and sat up abruptly.

"You wouldn't," Puck said, glaring at Blaine who had his phone firmly in his hand.

"Get off my bed," Blaine argued, and when Puck remained firm, Blaine shrugged his shoulder and hit the call button. Rachel and Quinn watched as the two boys continued with their stare off, neither one of them refusing to back down.

"Hey Kurt!" Blaine grinned, "Yeah, we're pretty much finished up here…yeah, about that, change of plan, my room is occupied right now, so meet me in Puck's room."

"Okay, you win!" Puck shouted, taking Rachel by the hand and pulling her from the bed, "You can have your bed back." Blaine grinned as he watched Puck leave his room, with Rachel quickly following behind him, barely having the time to wave to Blaine or Quinn. Blaine laughed as he closed the door behind him and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Don't you say goodbye anymore," Quinn asked and Blaine laughed at her.

"I called to check my balance," he told her, "But he didn't have to know that, did he?"


	11. Chapter 11

**I am so sorry for the lack up updates on this recently. I was originally posting two multi-chaptered stories at once, but then I became really invested in 'How did it end up like this?' and I just couldn't stop writing for it, and unfortunately this had to take a back seat. I have finished my Raine story now though, it took a lot of work and effort, but it's done. So hopefully I'll be able to concentrate on this one, depending on how my muse effects me. Like I say, I've been on a Raine fix recently and my muse doesn't seem to want to leave them alone. **

**This chapter is pretty much filler, and I'm so sorry, but I felt that I needed to post something to show you that I haven't given up on this. We've finally reached the competition stage now, and this is just introduction of that. There is definitely more to come :) In my world, this competition is spread over a week, and this is only day one - so yeah, plenty more to come. Plus, I felt like we needed some Puckleberry fluff, so I hope you enjoy.**

**You all know I don't own Glee - but a girl can dream can't she :)**

* * *

><p>Rachel practically jumped out of bed the next morning, she couldn't remember being this happy – ever. That included the time that the first time that Finn had told her that he loved her at the end of her sophomore year.<p>

"Quinn, it's time to get up!" she screeched, Quinn groaned loudly and turned away from her, throwing a pillow in Rachel's direction in protest. "Come on Quinn, this is the last chance that the original New Directions will be performing together. Ever!" Quinn let out a muffled moan and turned back to face Rachel, opening her eyes slightly.

"It still amazes me how much energy you have at 7am." Rachel shrugged and heading into the bathroom.

"It's one of my star qualities, I'm preparing myself for when I need to be up early to be on breakfast television." she slammed the door shut as Quinn threw another cushion in her direction.

The girls were finally dressed and Quinn seemed to have cheered up a little, she definitely wasn't a morning person. As the girls waited for the elevator, Puck and Sam came up behind them, Puck slinging his arm across Rachel's shoulders and pulling her closer to him, kissing her forehead gently. She smiled as she squeezed her tightly against him.

"Did you sleep well, Noah?" Rachel asked, he smirked and shrugged.

"As well as I could, I had things on my mind babe," Rachel rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her, smiling at Sam and Quinn who were talking opposite them.

"Well, I hope that you're able to concentrate today, we're competing in a matter of hours," she warned him and Puck laughed, placing his arm back around her shoulders as the four of them stepped into the elevator.

"Babe, we've got this," he told her, kissing her as a form of forcing her to stop talking.

"Okay guys, seriously. I'm happy that you're together and all that, but can you please stop doing that when we all stood so close together," Sam mumbled, Rachel blushed and pulled away from Puck, burying her head into his chest.

When the elevator opened again, the four of them headed towards the breakfast room where the rest of New Directions were already sitting comfortably. Rachel smiled as she spotted two available seats next to Blaine and Kurt, and guided Puck in their direction. No one took much notice as they took their seats, except for Blaine who grinned at the pair of them.

"Hey look, it's Puckleberry," he grinned, Rachel rolled her eyes and playfully dug her elbow into his ribs before she poured herself a glass of orange juice. Blaine didn't say anything else, he just grinned knowingly and continued to eat his breakfast. The rest of New Directions made small talk, each of them expressing their own nerves and excitement.

"Okay guys, listen up!" the table quietened almost immediately as they stared at their teacher, Emma sat quietly at his side, staring at him with wide eyes. "I know we're only performing two numbers today, but I want you give it all you've got. I know I don't usually say this ahead of the competition, but I really think we've got a shot at this." The kids cheered loudly and Will grinned at them all, "Now, go and get your things, the bus will be here soon," There was a clatter of noise as chairs scraped across the floor and New Directions hurried out of the restaurant.

Rachel found herself separated from Noah for the rest of the morning, even on the bus she was snatched away by an eager Blaine wanting a full run down on all things Puckleberry. Rachel just smiled at him but refused to go into too much detail, before assuring Blaine that Noah and her were having fun and enjoying their time together for the time being and not thinking about what would happen when the summer ended. That seemed to ease Blaine for the time being and Rachel was pretty relieved when Miss Pilsbury led the girls into their changing room to get changed into their costumes. New Directions were full of excitement as they got changed, each of them relishing in the fact that this would be the last time that they all competed together. When the group finally met up again, Rachel walked up to Puck who draped his arm lazily around her. She smiled and rested her head against his chest as Will called the kids closer around him.

"Okay everyone, we're up next," he called, "Is everyone ready?" the kids nodded eagerly and Will beamed at them, "Come on then, let's do this!" New Directions cheered loudly as they made their way towards the stage, Rachel smiled as she walked at Puck's side, ignoring the obvious look of discontent that Finn was shooting her way.

"Rachel, you ready?" Will called and Rachel nodded,

"Good luck babe," Puck smiled, leaning in close to her, Rachel smiled and softly pressed her lips against his. She pulled away and blushed as he gave her one of his trademark smirks; she rolled her eyes and walked towards the stage with Will.

"And now, all the way of Ohio, America – McKinley High's New Directions!" Rachel took a deep breath as she walked onto the dark stage, smiling out at the audience in front of her who were applauding politely, she glanced at the side of stage where Will was standing, with the half of New Directions standing behind him, she nodded and the music started playing behind her. She took the microphone in her hand and started singing softly.

"_Someone once told me  
>that you have to choose<br>what you win or lose  
>you can't have everything.<br>Don't you take chances  
>you might feel the pain,<br>don't you love in vain  
>cause love wont set you free.<br>I could stand by the side  
>and watch this life pass me by<br>so unhappy but safe as could be"_

Rachel paused and glanced towards the side of the stage again, smiling as Blaine stepped forward with Kurt at his side, they both smiled proudly at her. Rachel turned her attention back to the audience and slowly stepped forward.

"_So what if it hurts me?  
>So what if I break down?<br>So what if this world just throws me off the edge,  
>my feet run out of ground?<br>I got to find my place;  
>I want to hear my sound.<br>Don't care about other pain in front of me,  
>Cause I'm just trying to be happy, yea.<em>

_Just want to be happy, yea."_

Quinn and Tina slowly walked joined Rachel on stage. Standing either side of her and suddenly Rachel didn't feel so alone on this big stage anymore.

"_Holding on tightly  
>just cant let it go<br>just trying to play my role  
>slowly disappear.<br>Well all these tears  
>they feel like they're the same<br>just different faces, different names  
>get me outta here.<br>Well I can stand by the side  
>and watch this life pass me by<br>pass me by."_

Puck stood at the side of the stage, watching as Rachel laid her sole to the audience, her felt a lump his throat and sighed quietly, Sam glanced at his friend and patted his shoulder awkwardly.

"Dude, you okay?" he whispered, Puck nodded, not taking his eyes away from Rachel for a second. She stepped forward, connecting with the audience more and more with every breath that she took. He smiled and nodded. Yeah, that was _his_ girlfriend killing it on stage.

"_So any turns that I cant see,  
>I'll count a stranger on this road,<br>but don't say victim.  
>Don't say anything.<em>

_So what if it hurts me?  
>So what if I break down?<br>So what if this world just throws me off the edge,  
>my feet run out of ground?"<em>

Rachel smiled as the rest of New Directions joined her on the stage, singing the chorus along with her, she glanced at Puck who smiled softly at her and Rachel smiled at him, before turning her attention back to the audience who were now up on their feet cheering for her.

_"I got to find my place;  
>I want to hear my sound.<br>Don't care about other pain in front of me,  
>Cause I'm just trying to be happy, yea.<em>

_Just want to be happy, yea."_

Rachel smiled shyly as she took her bow, she waited a few seconds as the audience continued to cheer loudly. _We've so got this_, Rachel thought to herself, before she was finally able to introduce New Directions correctly. She quickly changed her microphones and quickly walked across the stage to get into her position for New Directions first group number of the competition. 'Hello, Goodbye,' was definitely a crowd pleaser, and the audience seemed to really enjoy the chemistry that Blaine and Rachel had throughout the number. Will watched from the side of the stage, extremely proud of the group of young of adults on stage. He watched as they all took their final bow and ran from the stage, cheering loudly. Emma helped him to guide them towards their dressing room, where they were all on a post-performance high.

"That was amazing!" Kurt grinned as he linked arms with Mercedes, Blaine and Rachel following closely behind them.

"We're so going to win this thing," Mercedes grinned, "Forget the English team,"

"Yeah, Rachel, you totally killed it out there!" Blaine grinned as he pulled his best friend into a hug, she laughed and hugged him back, as the rest of New Directions walked into the room behind them, talking animatedly about their performance.

"You did good Berry," Santana laughed, as she collapsed into the chair nearest the window, Rachel blushed as her teammates continued to compliment her, it had been three years of insults and put downs, but Rachel was finally gaining some recognition for her hard work in the club.

"Rachel, oh my god, you were incredible!" Rachel laughed as Quinn came running into the room and pulled Rachel into yet another hug, "I swear I saw one of the judges crying when you were singing!"

"That's a good thing, right?" Brittany whispered to Artie who nodded and smiled at her, Rachel then spotted Sam and Puck walk into the room and excused herself and walked directly up to them, Sam smiled and congratulated her on her performance before walking over to Quinn leaving Rachel and Puck alone for the first time all morning.

"You were amazing babe," he said quietly

"Thanks," Rachel whispered, blushing slightly. Puck pulled her in for a kiss, Rachel smiled as his lips brushed against hers, and she melted against him as he held her close.

"Get a room," Santana smirked from across the room, Rachel blushed as she pulled away and giggled as Puck tightened his grip around her waist, and walked further into the room, finding the nearest chair and pulling Rachel down on top of him. Blaine glanced at Quinn, whilst he was in conversation with Kurt, and she nodded knowingly, Blaine smirked as he returned his attention back to Kurt. It may have taken some time but Puckleberry were officially back on track.

"Okay guys," Will grinned as he cleared his throat and stepped into the room, it took a few minutes for everyone to quieten down, but Will accepted as much and waited for them to be quiet.

"You were all amazing out there today, and I am so incredibly proud of you all!" The kids smiled at each other and nodded as they waited for their teacher to continue, "Now, they don't post the results until this early this evening, so I'm going to give you all a few hours to yourselves," Emma's eyes widened as the kids quickly jumped to their feet, "Guys, I'm trusting you all not to let me down, I want you all back here no later than 3.30pm, is that understood?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Emma asked quietly as the kids quickly left the room. Will smiled and nodded, turning to face her correctly.

"It's their last summer together, Emma. I just want them to enjoy themselves, they probably won't ever get this chance again." He explained and Emma still wasn't convinced.

"London is a big place Will," she sighed and Will shrugged.

"New York is bigger," he retorted and Emma smiled and nodded, "They're good kids Emma, I trust them."


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I found it so hard to decide where to take this story next, you wouldn't believe the amount of times that I've wrote this chapter, and then started again because it didn't feel right. I do have some idea of the direction that I'm taking this story in now, now that I've had time to sit and think things through properly.**

**Also, I'm sorry in advance for the lack of Puck in this chapter, but I felt that this chapter was needed, but don't worry, Puck will be back before you know it. **

**Anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll try not to leave it as long to update next time.**

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><p><em>"Rachel! Wait, don't go up there!" Finn jumped as heard Blaine's frantic calls. He glanced at Santana who lay back and smirked at him as he frantically tried to pull the covers over himself, the door flew open and Finn gulped when he saw Rachel stood staring at him, a hurt expression on her face.<em>

_"Rachel...I..This isn't what it looks like," Finn stuttered, Rachel closed her eyes tightly and shook her head._

_"I can't believe you would do this to me," she said, her voice barely audible._

_"Rachel, I'm sorry. I love you." Finn pulled the covers tighter around him; Santana smirked at his side causing Rachel to look at her properly for the first time._

_"Relax hobbit, it's only sex, it doesn't mean anything, besides he wouldn't have come running to me if you gave it up once in a while,"_

_"I can't even look at you right now," Rachel muttered as she desperately tried not to cry, she was distraught, but she refused to let Santana and Finn see her in her moment of weakness, so she ran. She turned on her heel and ran back out of the room, Finn jumped from the bed and chased after her, only stopping when he found her in Blaine's arms, with Kurt standing next to them._

"_Rachel, I'm sorry," Finn sighed, Kurt shook his head at his step-brother, he knew he was supposed to remain neutral to the situation, but Rachel was one of his best friends, and his boyfriend's best friend, things were never going to be the same between the four of them again._

"_Finn, I don't think now is the right time," Kurt offered, trying to get Finn to leave them alone._

"_I just want to explain," Finn stated, stepping forward, causing Blaine to hold Rachel tighter._

"_I think you've done enough Finn," he said through gritted teeth, ushering Rachel down the stairs and into the lounge. Kurt watched them leave before glancing at Finn once more._

"_We tried to warn you Finn," he said quietly, before he retreated back downstairs to find his boyfriend and best friend._

Finn sighed as remembered that afternoon, the afternoon where his relationship with Rachel was turned to dust in a matter of seconds. He had never seen her look so hurt before, and he knew that he'd done a lot to hurt her in the past, but that afternoon when she'd caught him with Santana, she looked completely broken. They had barely spoken since and deep down Finn knew that it was his fault, he didn't even like Santana, he was just so angry that Rachel had cancelled their plans yet again for her _stupid_ vocal lesson, and Santana was there yet again to offer her 'services.' He remembered vividly how Rachel had avoided him after that, even going as far to demand that they switch dance partners on their number for Nationals that they'd spent weeks working on, and that was how he ended up dancing with Lauren at Nationals instead of Rachel, and Lauren scared him more than Santana did, so really it was his fault that Rachel and Puck danced together, he had threw them together and he was furious for letting Puckleberry happen. _Again_. He watched as Puck said goodbye to Rachel, something about having business to take care off, before he left with Lauren. Rachel waved to them both before walking over and linking arms with Blaine. New Directions had a few hours to kill before they had to meet up again, and Finn was determined to make the most of it. He watched as gradually the group began to split, Mike and Tina walked in the opposite direction to Puck and Lauren, with Brittany, Artie and of course Santana closely behind them. Quinn and Sam made a quick exit, leaving Mercedes, Kurt, Blaine and Rachel to make their own plans. Finn saw this as the perfect opportunity to try and talk to Rachel alone.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Kurt asked as Finn joined the group. Mercedes grinned and linked arms with him as they started walking through the busy high street. Blaine and Rachel rolled their eyes, knowing that they were in for yet another shopping trip.

As the group walked into yet another store, Kurt shrieked loudly and clasped Blaine's hand tightly before pulling him into the middle of the store and pointing at one of the display models, declaring that the look was perfect for Blaine. Rachel giggled as she watched Kurt and Mercedes rally around Blaine holding up various shirts against him, before tossing each one aside. Blaine looked helpless, but he'd learnt from experience that it was easier to let the two of them have their fun; it was a lot quicker that way.

"Hey," Rachel turned around and stared at Finn who was standing awkwardly behind her.

"Oh, hello," Rachel said quietly, before turning her gaze back to Blaine who was now being scolded by Kurt for not taking him seriously.

"Can we talk?" Finn asked, and Rachel sighed quietly before turning to face Finn.

"I can't keep having this conversation with you Finn." She said quietly,

"I just wanted to tell you how good you were today," Finn mumbled as she shuffled his feet on the ground. Rachel blinked and stared at him properly, clearly not having been expecting that.

"Oh, well thank you." She smiled slightly, "Was that all?"

"What's going on with you and Puck?" he asked bluntly causing Rachel to frown.

"I think that's my business, don't you?" she stated, as she turned to walk out of the store, Finn following closely behind her.

"I'm just concerned about you, that's all," Finn continued as Rachel forcefully pushed the door open, she scoffed loudly and turned to face him.

"You lost all rights to concerned about me when you slept with Santana!" she hissed

"Come on Rachel, don't be like that. I said I was sorry, what more do you want me to say?" Finn groaned as Rachel turned to walk away,

"I want you to leave me alone Finn!" she cried, "Do you have any idea how much it hurt me to get over you, how no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the image of you and Santana together out of my head?"

"You know that Santana never meant anything to me, I told you it was mistake, we've both made mistakes, it what we do." He offered weakly, Rachel stopped in her tracks, ignoring the angry stares that she received from passers by.

"I'll admit that our relationship was never easy, but after everything that had happened between us junior year, we'd agreed that it was fresh start for both of us. I thought we were happy Finn!" She could feel the tension rising in her small frame, but as she continued her rant to Finn, she realised that they had never actually had this conversation when they officially broke up, she had avoided him religiously, clinging to Blaine at every opportunity she had to use him as her own personal shield. She knew that she needed to get this out into the open.

"We were happy Rachel!" Finn argued, causing Rachel to shake her head furiously.

"If we were happy then you wouldn't have jumped into bed with Santana at the first chance you got," She half shrieked. Finn stared at her, he didn't know what to say to her next, everything had gone wrong, he thought that if he was able to speak to her alone, without Blaine or Puck being around, he'd be able to convince her that she belonged with him, that they were endgame, and that whatever she thought was happening between her and Puck was nothing like what they had once had.

"It wasn't like that Rachel!" Finn snapped, "I was angry that you'd cancelled our date again just so you could have an extra vocal lesson, you can already sing, what do you need extra lessons for?"

"You know how important they are to me, my career depends on them, you know that!" she shouted, "I can't believe that I actually considered putting New York on hold for you!"

"You could have missed just one lesson though Rachel, it wouldn't have killed you to put me first for once!" Finn retorted, Rachel rolled her eyes and actually laughed at him.

"Just like you put me first?" she snorted, Finn frowned as he tried to think of when he had put her first, there had to be one time, right? "I knew I always second best to you, it didn't matter what it was, I _always_ came second in Finn Hudson's life!"

"That's not true Rachel, I love you." Rachel laughed again and Finn frowned at her.

"Clearly," she snorted, "I'm tired of this Finn, I can't keep having the same argument over and over again, it's not fair!"

"Rachel, just tell me what to do and I'll do it," Finn begged.

"Hey, where did Rachel go?" Kurt asked as he walked away from the cashier, Blaine and Mercedes following him.

"She was stood over there," Blaine said as he pointed to where Rachel had been stood previously.

"Hey, Finn's gone to," Mercedes stated.

"Come on," Blaine groaned as he clasped Kurt's hand and walked out of the store in search of Rachel.

They heard them before they found them, Blaine using all of his strength to push his way through the busy streets of London's West End; he paused when he finally spotted them. Finn was stood with his back to them; Rachel was stood facing Finn directly. Blaine could tell by her expression that Rachel was angry, and he wanted nothing more than to walk up to her, tell Finn to back off and comfort his best friend and remind her that she didn't Finn in her life anymore. But Kurt tightened his grip on Blaine's hand, so they stood with Mercedes and watched as Rachel directed all of her anger and frustration at Finn for the first time ever, and he admit it, Blaine thought it was pretty cool to see his best friend finally standing up for herself.

"I just want you to leave me alone." Rachel stated, "I'm tired, Finn."

"Rachel, you can't give up on us. I won't let you." Finn stepped forward and Blaine tightened his grip on Kurt's hand. Kurt patted his arm gently and exchanged a concerned glance with Mercedes.

"I'm not giving up on us Finn." Rachel sighed, "You did that for the both of us." She paused as she finally spotted Blaine, Kurt and Mercedes stood behind Finn, "Please, don't make this any more awkward than it already is, we need to remain professional for the sake of New Directions. I don't want anything messing up this opportunity we've all been given." She left Finn standing alone as she joined her friend's once more. Kurt let go of Blaine's hand smiled as his boyfriend engulfed Rachel into a hug.

"You okay?" Blaine whispered, Rachel sighed and nodded,

"I think so," she smiled as she pulled away, "But can we call agree not to tell Noah any of this?" Blaine frowned, not really liking the idea, but Rachel's eyes pleaded with him and he relented as he nodded slowly, causing Mercedes and Kurt to do the same.

"Come on you guys, we should be heading back to the theatre. Mr Schue will be wondering where we are." Mercedes smiled, Rachel nodded, happy for the distraction. She glanced at Kurt who was biting his lip before shooting a concerned glance at his stepbrother, who was still frozen to the spot.

"You know what, you three go ahead," he sighed, "We'll catch up."

"Are you sure?" Mercedes asked, Kurt nodded and smiled at the three of them. Blaine smiled back, before kissing him on the cheek, and telling him not to be too long. Kurt nodded and watched as the three of them made their way through the crowd, when he could no longer see them, he sighed and turned and walked over to Finn, patting him on the back gently.

"You couldn't leave her alone, could you?" he said softly, Finn shrugged and turned to face him.

"I love her, Kurt," the taller boy whispered, so only Kurt would hear.

"I know," Kurt nodded, "But maybe it's time that you accepted that it's over between you both," Finn looked hurt and Kurt smiled softly, "For now at least, let's just enjoy the time that we've all got left together, who knows when we'll do it again." Finn took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"Thanks Kurt, you're a pretty cool brother, you know that?" he smiled.

"Of course, I'm one of the best," Kurt laughed, patting his brother's back, "Now come on, let's go and see how high we placed!"

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><p><strong>I hope you're not too disappointed with this chapter, but I feel that Finn gets away with far to much on the so, it doesn't matter how many time he messes up, he somehow comes out the hero, and it's wrong, especially the way he treats Rachel. I just wanted her to stand up for herself and realise that Finn isn't the be all and end all.<strong>

**The next few chapters will concentrate on the rest of the competition and New Directions bonding.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Once again, I'm so sorry for the delay. I'm currently writing 2 stories on here, and I guess I got really into the other story. This one hasn't been forgotten about though, it's just very different and is difficult to switch from one to the other. **

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter though, and it opened the doors for the next couple of chapters. I've spent today working on Puck and Rachel's duet which will be in the next 2-3 chapters, hopefully. I really think you'll enjoy that, so it's something to look forward to I guess :)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter x.**

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><p>New Directions placed in the top ten, meaning that they qualified for go through to the next round of the competition. The journey back to the hotel was a loud one, but that was to be expected, so Will and Emma didn't say anything, instead letting the kids enjoy their celebrations before they returned to rehearsals the next day.<p>

"What were you doing this afternoon," Rachel asked quietly as Puck threw his arm across her shoulders.

"Just taking care of some business babe," he shrugged, pulling her closer to him, "It's not important,"

"But it was important enough to involve Lauren?" Rachel questioned as she looked up at him, a frown on her face.

"Chill out babe, we've just placed in the top ten in the first round of the competition, I thought you'd be happy," Puck smiled at her and tried to kiss her but Rachel struggled out of his grasp.

"Noah Puckerman, I _demand_ that you tell me what's going on this instant!" Rachel shouted, the bus fell silent as twelve pair of eyes turned to face them; Rachel blushed slightly as she smiled back at them. Will and Emma stared at the two of them and Puck just rolled his eyes.

"Well, it was going to be surprise," he smirked, "But I thought we could have a party tonight, to celebrate moving forward," he said smoothly, as he glanced towards the two teachers at the front of the bus.

"That sounds a good idea Puck," Emma smiled, "Don't you think so Will?" Will nodded slowly and stared at Puck.

"Yeah, just don't make it a late night, you've all got rehearsals early tomorrow morning," everyone rolled their eyes and returned to their previous conversations, Puck smirked and nodded, placing his arm back around Rachel once more.

"Wouldn't dream of it Mr Schue," he smirked, Will gave him an uneasy smile and turned to face the front again. Puck let out a sigh of relief and turned to face Rachel.

"Will you please try and keep your crazy to a minimum please?" he whispered, Rachel lifted her head and smirked at him.

"I thought you liked my crazy?" she asked,

"You know I do, but sometimes it causes unnecessary questions." Rachel rolled her eyes and Puck kissed the top of her head.

"Okay guys, now I know you all want to celebrate tonight, but please remember that we've got rehearsals tomorrow and if you to make it to the top five, then we're going to need to work as hard as we possibly can, to ensure that we get there. Do I make myself clear?" Will stated as New Directions gathered in the hotel lobby, there was a murmur of agreement from the teens, and Will gave them a satisfied nod before dismissing them all, and letting them head up to their rooms. Puck gave Rachel a quick kiss goodbye, before heading into his own room, taking Sam with him. Rachel rolled her eyes and linked arms with Quinn as the two girls walked into their own room. Rachel closed the door behind them and Quinn jumped onto her bed, before turning around to face Rachel, a huge grin on her face.

"Okay spill," Quinn demanded as Rachel hung her jacket up,

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, sitting at the foot of Quinn's bed.

"Finn has been staring at you all afternoon, what happened between you two?" Rachel sighed and shook her head.

"Do you really need to know?" she asked.

"Well, if you don't tell me, I could always call Blaine, I'm sure he'll fill me in," Quinn smirked.

"I'm beginning to regret the day that you two became friends," Rachel grinned, "But fine, if you really want to know, I'll tell you."

"I knew you would," Quinn grinned, "Now go!"

"Finn tried to get back together with me," Rachel shrugged, "He kept saying that he'd made a mistake, but he was sorry and that I shouldn't have given up on him so quickly."

"He seriously said that?" Quinn asked,

"Yeah. It's only because he doesn't like the idea of Noah and I engaging in a relationship, he kept saying that Noah didn't care about me the same way he did. So I gave him a few home truths and that was it." Rachel stated, "I guess it's going to take him some time to come around, but honestly, I'm finished with all that."

"So, are you going to tell Puck?" Quinn asked,

"He doesn't need to know," Rachel said shaking her head, "I don't want our relationship to have any unnecessary drama, I just want t enjoy the time that we have together, I mean who knows what's going to happen at the end of the summer,"

"I understand what you're saying Rachel, really I do. Sam and I have already spoken about what's going to happen when we go to college, and it's scary. But Puck deserves to know Rachel, he wouldn't want you to hide this from him." Rachel sighed and stared at her friend.

"Can you just let me deal with this my way, please?" Rachel asked, Quinn bit her lip but nodded.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it Rachel,"

"I know." Rachel sighed.

"Anyway, enough with that. Let's have a look what we can wear tonight." Quinn grinned.

"Quinn, it's a team gathering in Sam and Noah's room, do we really need to dress up?" Rachel laughed.

"I'll tell Kurt you said that," Quinn giggled.

"Please don't," Rachel said in mock horror,

"Then help me choose something to wear,"

When Quinn and Rachel knocked on Puck's door a couple of hours later, hair and make up perfected, Rachel was shocked to find New Directions drinking a considerate amount of alcohol. Rachel made it her mission to seek Puck out as Quinn mingled with the rest of the group.

"Noah, what on earth are you doing?" Rachel asked, as she stood facing him, hand firmly on her hips. Puck heard her and turned to face him, a smirk on his face.

"Calm down babe," he smirked, "I can explain."

"Noah, we're underage, you've broken the law in foreign country by just purchasing this, let alone drinking it, if we get caught then this could blow our chances in the competition and you could end up in jail!" Rachel half shouted, Puck continued to smirk at her, as he waited for her to stop talking.

"Are you finished?" he asked,

"I think so, and what on earth are you smirking at?" she asked.

"Because, my little hot Jewish-American princess, the law is on our side in the UK, I did my research before we flew out here." He smirked, "You see over here, you're _legally_ allowed to purchase and consume alcohol from the age of eighteen, and since we're all eighteen now, I don't see what we've done wrong, do you?" Rachel huffed loudly and crossed her arms against her chest.

"It's still wrong Noah, what if Mr Schue or Miss Pilsbury were to catch us?" Rachel asked.

"They can't do anything Rachel, like I said, we're not breaking any laws here," Puck shrugged, "So can I get you a drink?" Rachel sighed and allowed him to hand her a drink.

"Is this what you were doing this afternoon?" Rachel asked, after she took a nervous sip of her drink, Puck nodded and Rachel frowned at him.

"You could've told me," Rachel mumbled,

"If I'd have told you, then you would've tried to stop me with all your crazy." Puck smirked and Rachel couldn't help but smile at him, aware at how well he knew her. As she took another sip from her cup, she decided to let loose a little, like Puck had told her, the law was on their side, and as she glanced at her friends, it was clear that they didn't have the same concerns as her. She finished her drink and handed Puck her empty cup, causing him to smirk at her.

"Coming right up babe," he grinned.

As the night continued, Puck's party was becoming more of a success. Rachel was sitting on top of Puck as they watched their friends dance around the extremely cramped room. Rachel giggled as she watched Blaine attempt to sing '_Teenage Dream'_ to Kurt, whilst Kurt drunkenly grinned at him, grabbing the nearest person to him and proudly informing them that Blaine was in fact his boyfriend. Quinn and Sam were also making the most of the party setting, curled up on Sam's bed, making out, not caring that they were surrounded by the remaining 12 members of New Directions.

"So, are you glad you stayed?" Puck asked as he rested his head on Rachel's shoulder, Rachel grinned and turned around to kiss him, just before Mike, Brittany, Tina and Artie downed another round of shots.

"I will admit, that this was a good idea," she grinned as she pulled out of the kiss.

"Shame he doesn't think so huh?" Puck asked he nodded at Finn who was sat awkwardly near the door.

"He needs to learn how to have fun," Rachel giggled, before hiccupping, causing Puck to laugh at her.

"I think you've had a little too much of this," he said, holding up her cup.

"I haven't had that many, I've only had," she paused as she started counting on her fingers, "Not a lot!"

"If you say so babe," Puck laughed as she giggled and placed his arms around his neck and leaned in for another kiss, when Rachel wasn't looking, Puck picked up a cushion from the floor and threw it in Finn's direction.

"Dude, what's your problem?" he shouted, Quinn pulled away from Sam and sat up to face Rachel.

"Oh, you told him then?" she grinned, "I knew you could do it." Rachel shook her head quickly, but it was too late, Puck had already heard Quinn.

"What's she talking about Rachel?" Rachel turned to face Quinn and glared at her,

"Uh oh," Quinn mumbled, before hiding her head in Sam's shirt.

"What did you need to tell me Rachel?" Puck asked her again and Rachel sighed, the happy effects of the alcohol wearing of quickly.

"Finn and I had a conversation earlier, it didn't go to well," she mumbled, trying to hide her head in his shoulder, Puck sighed and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

"What do you mean, 'it didn't go well?' What the hell happened Rachel?" he asked her again. Finn, who had been watching, stood up and walked over to her.

"Don't talk to her like that!" he snapped, "She doesn't have to tell you anything."

"Dude, sit the f*ck down!" Puck said through gritted teeth, "Now, what happened." He asked, staring at Rachel again.

"Nothing, he just started talking about us getting back together, and that you didn't care about me the same way he did. I handled it Noah, it's okay." She smiled at him, but Puck wasn't convinced. He picked her up and sat her back down on the chair, before he turned back to face Finn.

"What the f*ck is your problem?" he shouted, the room fell silent, Blaine paused mid chorus of _'Teenage Dream'_ and pouted before Kurt pulled him into a hug and they stood watching Puck and Finn square up to each other. Finn was suddenly aware that all eyes were suddenly on him and Puck, but quite frankly he didn't care. He'd put up with so much crap since his relationship had ended with Rachel that he was tired, he knew that he had to end this here and now.

"You're my problem!" he shouted back at Puck, "You only ever go my cast offs, first Quinn, now Rachel. You say you're a stud, but you can never get a girl that I haven't had first."

"Hey, I resent that!" Lauren added from the corner, "You're just not my type Hudson." Finn stared at her and Santana turned to face her and shook her head.

"Not the time Zises" she stated before turning back to face Puck and Finn.

"You think you're such a big shot, like you're supposed to be a leader, but you're not and you never have been!" Puck snapped, stepping forward. Finn tensed a little but held his ground.

"I am a leader, I'm the one who lead the football team to two state championship titles, I led the Glee club to Nationals and Internationals. That was all me!" Puck scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes.

"Please, we got state championship, because Bieste is the best damn coach McKinley has ever had, and in case you haven't noticed, you haven't been singing lead in Glee either this year, it's been Blaine and Rachel!"

"Because we're awesome!" Blaine grinned, Kurt giggled and tried to quieten his boyfriend.

"You think you're better than me?" Finn scoffed, "You wish. Newsflash Puckerman, Rachel's heading to New York at the end of the summer, we're all leaving to go to college, and what are you doing? You're staying in Lima like the loser you've always been!" That was enough for Puck; Finn had touched a nerve. He'd clearly heard enough as he lunged forward to attack Finn. Rachel shrieked loudly as the two boys started fighting in the middle of the room.

"Stop the violence," Brittany said calmly,

"Forget that, hit him Puckerman!" Santana shouted dismissing Brittany; it took a few minutes for the rest of New Directions to react to what was going on in front of them. Mike and Sam untangled themselves from their girlfriends and jumped to separate their two friends, Blaine attempted to help, but with his small frame and vast amount of alcohol consumption holding him back, he wasn't much help. It was then that Lauren got involved, calmly moving from her spot at the back of the room and easily pulling the two boys apart, and standing in between them, leaving Sam holding Puck back and Mike holding onto Finn.

"Just for the record Puckerman, you could've totally taken him." Lauren smirked as she returned back to her seat. Rachel sniffed quietly as Puck shrugged himself out of Sam's grip.

"Babe, don't cry," he whispered as he crouched down in front of her, he placed his hand on her knee and she pushed it away.

"This is exactly why I didn't tell you," she sniffed, "I knew you'd react like this."

"I'm sorry babe, I was just angry," he said as Rachel stood up and walked towards the door.

"I can't deal with this right now, I need some time alone," she stated as she opened the door and walked out into the empty hallway and towards her room. The room was silent after Rachel's walk out; no one knew what to say, what had started off as a great night of celebration had turned into a drunken disaster. Puck kicked the chair that Rachel had been previously sitting in and Tina quickly jumped out of the way as it flew in her direction.

"Damn Puck, you know how to spoil a party," Santana remarked, Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Okay everyone, party's over. Everyone back to your rooms. If we're lucky Mr Schue will never find out about this," he said, not really believing his own words. Everyone nodded in agreement as one by one they drifted out of the room. Quinn kissed Sam goodbye and walked out with Blaine, Kurt and Finn.

"You want to come and check on Rachel?" Quinn asked Blaine, Blaine bit his lip and looked at Kurt, obviously torn between his best friend and his boyfriend.

"You go," Kurt smiled, "I'll walk back with Finn."

"I love you," Blaine grinned, kissing Kurt on the cheek and watching as his boyfriend walked to his room with his stepbrother before Quinn linked arms with him and they headed to find Rachel.

Quinn slipped her key card into the lock and the pair of them walking inside, to find Rachel lying in the dark.

"Rachel?"

"Leave me alone," Rachel stated,

"It's just me and Blaine," Quinn remarked as Blaine flicked on the light switch, Rachel groaned quietly and rolled over. Blaine rolled his eyes and walked around to the other side of the bed, smiling at Rachel.

"You want to sing about it?" he asked, Rachel's frown turned into a smile as she managed to sit up and pulled Quinn and Blaine onto the bed next to her and into a tight embrace. Grateful that she still had her friends at a time like this.


End file.
